Ahead of the 2019 general election in Nigeria, journalists have been urged to advocate for issues-based campaigns as they engage politicians ahead of the 2019 general elections.
The call was made by writer and consultant, Jide Ojo, during a 2-day capacity building training for political correspondents, which was organized by International Press Centre in partnership with EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria.
In his session, Ojo spoke on how journalists can integrating socio-economic and human index development data into reporting ahead of the elections in the country.
The writer also stated that it’s high time candidates for elective positions campaign based on their agenda for the public instead of generalizing issues and fault finding in other candidates.
Ojo highlighted various development reports to show that much needed to be done in addressing socio-economic issues in the country.
He stressed that the socio-economic issues range from health, education, poverty, unemployment, sanitation, power among others.
Also speaking at the training was Bolaji Adebiyi, Editor at This Day Newspaper.
Bolaji advised journalists on the ‘dos and don’ts of election coverage’, as well as emphasising the need for journalists to be well equipped with adequate information about the laws and regulations guiding elections and party constitutions.
He also called for the regular training of reporters by their organizations and also investing in modern technology.
Earlier in his welcome address, the director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade said the purpose of the workshop is to equip journalists with the skills of credible election reporting.
He said, “By reporting politics day-to-day, by covering the activities of the political parties, by providing information to enable citizens make informed choices during elections, by informing on the activities of the election management body and by informing on outcomes of surveys and or opinion polls during campaigns, the political reporter is the heart beat of political journalism.”
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