2023 Election: SOUTH WEST JOURNALISTS RECEIVED TRAINING.
By Olusegun Adeyemi HOSEA.
The southwest Journalists have undergone training ahead of the 2023 general election on a theme “conflict-Sensitive Reporting and General Election”.
The programme took place at NUJ Press Centre, Alagbaka, Akure, Ondo State. The Media Practitioners was charged to avoid sensational reports that can set the country on fire during, before and after the election. The one day capacity building was put together by the Independent National Electoral Commission-INEC and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, has the participants across the spectrum of the Journalists in the state.
The resource person, Mrs Abimbola Oyetunde, who represented the national President of the NUJ, Chris Isiguzo, admonished Journalists to always verified their reports before publishing as the whole Public relied on the integrity of the reports of the Journalists in the society.
Açcording to her, Journalists should never attempts to deviate from the ethical stardard of the profession because of the interest of our dear nation. She urged them to always used their reports to promote peace and unity of the country .
In another development, the resource person charged the media Practitioner to be an active partners in the implementation of the Government policies that could lead to the development of the nation. She urged them to facilitate easy access to information to the members of the Public.
In her words, Journalists should endeavour to charged the politicians to intimate the members of the public about their manifestos and how they want to go about it intime of implementation , for the purpose of solving the issues affecting the general public. She said Journalists should endeavour to acquint themselves to the electoral laws as this would guide them in their reportage.
Oyetunde spoke further that journalists should put the INEC on their toes in order for them to awake to their responsibilities and that necessary questions should be asked by them on the issues surrounding the voters registration and the collection of cards.
She said Journalists should report on the situation as it’s being happening on the field. She rap it up her lecture by calling on the security agencies to give Journalists adequate protection during the election because they deserved protection.
At the end of the workshop, communique was developed and read to the hearing of the participants for approval. Part of the resolution was that INEC was encouraged to continue with the technology used in Osun and Ekiti State during the election in order to reduce the vote buying during the election.
