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REMARKS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC), PROFESSOR MAHMOOD YAKUBU, AT A SENSITISATION FORUM FOR BROADCASTERS AND STAKEHOLDERS ON FAIR AND RESPONSIBLE COVERAGE OF THE 2023 GENERAL ELECTION ORGANISED BY THE NATIONAL BROADCASING COMMISSION (NBC), HELD AT THE NAF CONFERENCE CENTRE, JABI, ABUJA, ON MONDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER 2022
The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
National Commissioners of INEC
Heads of other Agencies of Government
Proprietors of Various Broadcast Organisations
Managers of Various Broadcast Organisations
Critical Stakeholders
Other Invited Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
1. On behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I wish to express our profound appreciation to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the kind invitation to address this distinguished assembly of owners, managers and stakeholders in the broadcast industry in Nigeria.
2. For us in INEC, this meeting could not have come at a better time. First, the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections is holding in just 151 days on Saturday 25th February 2023, followed by the Governorship and State Assembly elections two weeks later on Saturday 11th March 2023. Secondly, activities for the 2023 General Election as contained in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities released by the Commission on 26th February 2022 have reached the critical stage of implementation. Eight out of 14 activities have so far been successfully implemented. Thirdly, having conducted primaries and nominated their candidates for the 2023 General Election, political parties will begin campaign in public in the next two days i.e. Wednesday 28th September 2022.
3. The 2023 General Election will be taking place against the background of the new Electoral Act 2022. As you are aware, the new law is a repeal and re-enactment of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which governed the conduct of three general elections (2011, 2015 and 2019). However, the forthcoming 2023 General Election is the first time that many aspects of the Electoral Act 2022 will be implemented in a nationwide election. Many aspects of the new law are yet to be properly understood and appreciated by many Nigerians, including the political actors. The broadcast media are critical partners to INEC. While the Commission will continue to deepen its focused engagement with stakeholders, the media play a critical role in ensuring a more effective public enlightenment on the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 in particular and other aspects of the electoral process in general.
4. In the next two days, campaign by political parties in public as provided by Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 will officially commence nationwide. This means that over the next five months or so, political parties, candidates and their supporters will traverse the country canvassing for votes. They will engage in media appearances and hold townhall meetings, door to door campaigns, rallies and processions. This period is often characterised by excitement as well as anxiety.
5. Therefore, political parties, candidates and their supporters as well as the media have a responsibility to operate within the confines of the law and the provisions of the Commission’s rules and regulations. Issue-based campaign is essential for safe electioneering. In turn, this will create the atmosphere for the successful deployment and conduct of all electoral activities. Campaigns should be devoid of hate speech; abusive, intemperate, or slanderous language; insinuations or innuendoes likely to provoke violent reaction; physical attack on supporters of one party by another or destruction of campaign materials etc.
6. More specifically, Section 95 of the Electoral Act 2022 defines the responsibilities of political parties and candidates, the media and public institutions. It also provides sanctions for violations. For instance, in the course of our numerous interactions with political parties over the years, many have complained about the denial of access to public facilities for meetings and rallies, exorbitant charges for signages and billboards, and equal access to State media. Using the power of incumbency to deny opposition parties access to public facilities is illegal. Section 95 Subsections 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are unambiguous and worth quoting verbatim as follows:
95(2) “State apparatus including the media shall not be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election.”
95(3) “Media time shall be allocated equally among the political parties and candidates at similar hours of the day.”
95(4) “At any public electronic media, equal airtime shall be allotted to all political parties or candidates during prime times at similar hours each day, subject to the payment of appropriate fees.”
95(5) “At any public print media, equal coverage and visibility shall be allotted to all political parties.”
7. Failure to comply with the provisions of the law attracts sanctions against both the media organisation and its principal officers as clearly provided for in Section 95(6) as follows:
95(6) “A person who contravenes subsections (3) and (4) commits an offence and is liable on conviction, in the case of –
(a) a public media, to a fine of N2,000,000 in the first instance and N5,000,000 for subsequent conviction; and
(b) principal officers and other officers of the media house, to a fine of N1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of six months.”
8. As campaigns start, the media has a huge responsibility. We have all been talking about issue-based campaigns. I believe that the media has a critical role to play in this respect. Equitable access to the media for all political parties and candidates is essential to the promotion of issue-based campaigns. By doing so, the media will also steer the discussion and engage the candidates away from the mundane to the critical issues that matter to citizens. Consequently, the public will be in a better position to make informed decisions on Election Day.
9. Beyond the commencement of campaigns by political parties, I would like to seize this opportunity to appeal to the media to continue to fact-check stories before going to press. Politics is an intensely partisan activity. The media and INEC stand for neutrality.
10. I urge you to continue to abide by the ethics of the profession anchored on the law, the regulations and guidelines published by INEC and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Code. I wish to assure you that we will continue to engage with the NBC and broadcast stations. We will, as always, continue to provide you with the necessary information to make your work of informing and educating citizens easier. I also wish to reiterate our commitment to the nation that the Commission will do everything within its power to ensure that the 20223 General Election is free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive and verifiable.
11. On this note, let me once again appreciate the NBC for the invitation to speak at this important forum.
12. Thank you all and God Bless.
