Victor EzejaCandidates of political parties have been advised to attend debates and Town Hall meetings to speak to Nigerians about their plans for the country when elected in 2023.
Dr Marcel Mbamalu, CEO of Newstide Publications Limited, publishers of Prime Business Africa, gave this advice during Channels TV Sunrise Daily show on Monday morning.
Dr. Mbamalu, who joined Channels TV presenters, Ayo Makinde and Chamberlain Usoh, during the early morning newspaper review, stressed the imperative for candidates, especially those vying for office of the President to utilize the public engagement opportunities to talk to citizens about their intentions for governance.The media entrepreneur, a former Editor at The Guardian Nigeria, was responding to issues surrounding the conduct of political parties and their candidates, especially with regard to engaging in verbal attacks in the course of campaigns.
“Let politicians leave us the electorate to just choose. Let them appear in debates and tells us what they have for us. We can see them; we know who they are. It’s good they are exposing themselves, helping the electorate make the best of decisions,” said Dr Mbamalu.
Mbamalu said the candidates’ communication shouldn’t just end on the pages of newspapers but they should come out each time there is opportunity for debate or town hall meeting to engage directly and discuss their manifestos.
He expressed the optimism that the upcoming elections would likely be the most transparent in the history of the country’s democracy if the current managers of the process are ready for it.
Some media platforms recently organised debates and town hall meetings for presidential candidates. While some candidates attended, others did not.
The All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had said he would not honour invitation for any presidential debate. His comments were, however, greeted with mixed reactions, with a cross section of his supporters aligning with him while others called him out for refusing to engage Nigerian electorate directly.
Some stakeholders have called on government to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disqualify candidates who fail to attend presidential debates.
Prof. Pat Utomi, the Convener of the Big Tent, a coalition of political parties, civil society organisations and the Third Force, said such candidates who give excuses to dodge debates do so because they are unfit for the task or are unwilling to make commitments that can be used to hold them accountable when elected into power.
Utomi further warned that such practice has “made many Nigerians lose interest in the country’s democracy as an accountable process of government of the people, for the people and by the people,” leading to low turn out of voters on election days.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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