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Ahead of the 2023 general elections the Director General (DG) of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman has called on law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute offenders of the 2022 Electoral Act.
The DG said that in Abuja on Monday while addressing participants at a training workshop for the National Assembly press Corps organized by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in conjunction with NILDS and the National Assembly.
“I call on all security and enforcement agencies to closely study all the electoral offenses in the Act and take measures to arrest and prosecute offenders.
“The Electoral Act has robust provisions prohibiting campaigning or broadcasting based on the religious, tribal, or sectional reason for the purpose of promoting or opposing a particular political party or the election of a particular candidate (s.97). Section 91 prohibits campaigns or slogans that are tainted with abusive language that directly or indirectly injure religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings,” Sulaiman said.
The former Minister added, “It also prescribes penalties for breaches. Yet, no politician or party has been charged despite abundant evidence of blatant contravention of these provisions by people from all parties.
“Additionally, the Electoral Act has a few provisions on the use of state media but, unfortunately, nothing concrete to regulate private media organizations. Nonetheless, Section 120 (6) prohibits the dissemination of false results and prescribes a penalty of three years imprisonment,” he stated.
He lamented the rise in negative campaigns by politicians and therefore challenged the media to redirect the candidates in their approach to electioneering campaigns, saying: “The failure of the media to re-frame the conversation and re-direct politicians to issues that confront Nigeria has largely worsened the situation”.
Speaking further, Prof. Sulaiman said, “I challenge you to reflect on your role as watchdogs of our democracy. As professionals, you have a duty to inform the public and provide them with the information they need to make Informed decisions about leadership and policy.
“However, the media is better placed to set the agenda for public discussion of critical issues, especially in the build-up to the elections”.
Delivering a welcome address, the country representative of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in Nigeria, Marija Peran, said that it was critical to prepare the media for the task ahead.
She noted that a strong media coverage is needed to x-ray the election and strengthen democracy in Nigeria, just as she assured that KAS will continue to contribute to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.
“It was really important that we hold this training before the election. The next four years will shape the political direction that Nigeria will go. One of the mandates of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, is to support all democratic institutions. And the media is very important to us,” Peran said.
The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Press Corps, Ms. Grace Ike, said the training is the most important training session because it dwells on two most critical issues in the history of Nigeria today.
“First, the 2023 general elections, which is largely considered to be a defining moment in the country. As political and parliamentary correspondents/ journalists, I believe this training will go a long way in preparing us ahead of this crucial national assignment of covering the 2023 general elections. Secondly, the redesign of the naira is a very topical issue today because it has affected Nigerians across the board, and choosing it as one of the topics to be discussed here is timely and quite commendable,” Ms. Ike stressed.
She acknowledged the leadership and management of the National Assembly for its support and collaboration in deepening democracy in Nigeria.
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