2019: INEC seeks journalists’ co-operation to check vote buying, selling

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged journalists to assist the commission to deliver free and credible elections by naming and shaming perpetrators of vote buying and selling.
INEC’s Enugu State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Emeka Ononamadu, made the plea while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), South East Zone, led by its Zonal Vice President, Petrus Obi.
The Zonal NUJ delegation was on a familiarization visit to the commission’s state headquarters in Enugu on Wednesday.
Ononamadu, who lauded the South East Zonal Vice President, Obi, for his victory at the 6th Triennial Delegates Conference of the NUJ in Abeokuta, Ogun, said that the commission needed understanding and support from journalists.
“The issue of vote buying and selling will be a thing of the past if journalists can name and shame the perpetrators.
“What we are pleading with the press is deep understanding and support because the media is a huge stakeholder in the 2019 general elections.
“We are calling on journalists to begin to shape opinions about what people think about elections and its processes,’’ he said.
The REC said that INEC had over 300,000 uncollected Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in Enugu State and pleaded with the people to come and collect their PVCs.
According to him, the media has done well as regards information concerning collection of PVCs but they still need to do more.
He noted that INEC had remained a media friendly organization and would continue to partner with journalists and media houses.
Earlier, Obi commended the REC for successfully conducting the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) and distribution of PVCs in the state.
He pointed out that there was need for journalists to be trained on election matters to effectively work with INEC during the elections.
“We are stakeholders in the elections and we know that we have a role to play in this forthcoming elections.
“We believe that there is need for training of journalists to work effectively together with INEC. Journalists have co-operated with the commission in the past and this election will not be different,’’ he said.
He urged journalists to play by the professional code of conduct and ethics, adding that the NUJ at the national level was already working on modalities at harmonizing the use of social media to curb the menace of fake news.