The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has tasked media practitioners to ensure ethics in their reportage, ahead of the November 11 Kogi governorship election.
Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, the Chairman, INEC, said this at a meeting with Kogi media executives in Lokoja as part of preparation for the election.
Yakubu, who was represented by his media aide, Mr Rotimi Olakanmi, said that the appeal became imperative because of the reoccurring cases of fake news in the media in recent times.
“As stakeholders, the media should refuse the temptation to move away from facts as being seen in the social media, where fake news has become the order of the day.
“Let’s practice in accordance with the ethics of the profession and the laws of the land to help INEC succeed in its task of conducting credible, peaceful and successful election in Kogi come November 11,” he said.
Earlier, Dr Gabriel Longpet, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), described the media as critical partner and stakeholder in the hitch-free conduct of the November 11 governorship election.
Longpet said that INEC was prepared and ready for the conduct of the election devoid of rancour.
“All we want is for the people of the state to demonstrate a change of attitude toward election and ensure that the election is credible and peaceful.
“Therefore, political actors should not do anything that will negatively affect the election, but to support the commission to succeed for the good of the state,” he said.
Alhaji Mommoh Jimoh, the chairman of the state council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), lauded INEC for organising the meeting, which he said was the first of its kind since the creation of the state.
Jimoh pleaded with INEC to provide journalists with accreditation cards and other materials needed for the smooth coverage of the poll.
He assured INEC of journalists’ readiness to give the November 11 election the desired coverage for posterity.
