Ahead of the forthcoming general elections, journalists have been asked to be fair and unbiased in their reporting of political events.
Kogi State governor, Capt. Idris Wada, represented by his media assistant on print, Yekini Jimoh, gave the charge in a message to declare open a one-day workshop on The Media and Election Coverage in Nigeria, organised by the correspondents chapel of the state NUJ.
Capt. Wada described the role of the media as crucial to the success of the general election, and appealed to journalists not to take sides in their reporting.
He noted that media reports largely influence the conduct of the electorate before, during and after elections and urged the media to see the unity of the country and the stability of the nation’s democracy as pivotal in their reporting.
The governor tasked journalists to help douse the tension ahead of the election and after the exercise, and appealed to the media to preach the oneness and unity of the country in their reporting.
While commending the role played by the media in creating awareness and in sensitizing the electorate ahead of the coming elections, Capt. Wada urged Nigerians especially politicians to play by the rules of the game.
Earlier in his remarks, the state NUJ chairman, Comrade Ali Atabor, said the success of the forthcoming polls lies in the hands of journalists in their accurate reporting of events, before, during and after the polls, and appealed to them to write their names in gold as protectors of the nation’s democracy.
