JADESeminar: Ojudu, Semenitari, Mbah Explain How Media Should Report 2023 Election

Journalists across the country have been urged to be agents of change as the country approaches the 2023 general election.

The special adviser to the president on political matters, Senator, Babafemi Ojudu , gave the charge during a training organized for journalists in Abuja by JADESeminars. 

Ojudu, who was represented at the event on Thursday, called on journalists to be more investigative in reporting the upcoming elections, saying,  “It is the responsibility of the journalists to dig deeper and expose electoral ills rather than just stop at the press statement issued. “

Another guest at the event and former acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Ibim Semenitari,  advised media houses to  shun sensationalism and perform their watchdog role while reporting the election.

Semenitari, who is also a journalist and publisher, charged reporters to  fact-check information, images and videos before publishing, and avoid bias or stereotypes.

Also speaking at the event , a journalist with the Al Jazeera, Fidelis Mbah, said politics has been turned into a “male game” in Nigeria, and urged media houses to  stop discriminatory reporting of female politicians.

He said  the media focus more on the personality of the female politician more than they do for their male counterpart.

“How many times do we ask male politicians how many women they’ve been with? Why do we always report the personal life of a female politician rather that their merit for the position they are vying for?,” he asked.

The training which is the 5th edition by JADESeminars, was done  in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, (FES), Nigeria, to advance the course of development journalism in Nigeria.