By Tony Adibe
The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Prof. Peter Umeadi, has tasked media practitioners and media owners on the need to avoid being biase, but to ensure an equal opportunity is given to all the 18 political parties and their candidates for the general elections in 2023.
Prof Umeadi emphasised that journalists should not take the next year’s elections for granted, stressing that a situation in which the media practioners and the media owners are being biase in the coverage of the upcoming elections and the political parties with their candidates is not acceptable but condemnable.
Umeadi, who was a former Chief Judge of Anambra State, gave the task in Enugu during the 2023 Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Enugu State Council annual Week/Lecture.
NewsBits reports that the annual lecture themed, “2023: The New Electoral Act And The Media,” is part of the Correspondents’ Chapel contributions to deepen knowledge and understanding of the New Electoral Act. He said that it was embarrassing that the media appeared to be favouring certain presidential candidates to the utter neglect of others and their political parties.
Justice Umeadi said: “The media practioners are like judges in the court who must be neutral in the cases they are handling. A judge should not and must not take sides. The same thing applies to the journalists in covering the general elections. It’s not the duty of the media to announce or declare the winner of an election even when it has not been conducted. But it’s embarrassing what is coming out of the media these days.”
The APGA standard bearer, who was conferred during the occasion with the “Pillar of Justice” award , restated that journalists should not take sides but give everyone a level playing ground to showcase their programmes and aspirations to the people of Nigeria.
Umeadi bemoaned a situation in which only a few presidential candidates are invited for a media debate or are invited to a public function as if others are not important. According to him, “It is not the duty of journalists to take sides. It is embarrassing that the press has said those that will win elections even before votes are cast.
“All the candidates have equal opportunity to win and should be given a level playing ground. We cannot change Nigeria if we take things the way they are. Journalists should hold our leaders accountable as the conscience of the people. We can start here and we can do it well. Let’s give everybody a chance.”
Justice Umeadi further said: “The media should hold leaders accountable. The media should ask relevant questions and report what is happening. It is only when you report those happenings that we can have better Nigeria but if we let people go without asking questions, we are not doing the country well.
“The media should not take 2023 elections for granted; they should report all electoral fraud.” Justice Umeadi regretted that most journalists announce election results even when election is ongoing, stressing that it was too bad for the profession and democracy.
