As 2023 general elections beckon, journalists covering any election, must seek information outside official pronouncements of political parties.
This way, the media can promote inclusiveness.
The reporter should also be courageous enough to point out where the party has violated its own rules or electoral rules.
These formed the highpoint of the communique issued by
discussants at a one-day workshop on “The Role of Media in 2023 General Elections”, organized in Lagos by the Labour Writers Association of Nigeria (LAWAN) in partnership with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES)
The forum agreed that the Nigerian media has a major role in ensuring peaceful, credible, transparent and inclusive general election in 2023.
It noted that the media cannot indeed, be separated from the political history of Nigeria. Some of the Nationalists that fought for independence were journalists; Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo.
It stated that Nigerian workers need to be active in politics because political decisions affect them negatively or positively.
It is therefore expected that journalists that report Labour should also be empowered to report elections in the larger society.
Journalists covering elections must create time to familiarize themselves with the constitution of political parties, especially the major ones.
The reporter should be courageous enough to point out where the party has violated its own rules or electoral rules.
As 2023 beckons, Labour Writers can help media get it right by engaging in working class-focussed civic and voter education;
emphasizing importance of PVC collection and voting by workers ;
bringing INEC and also SIECs’ attention to the needs of disadvantaged workers such as those living with disabilities during elections and
raising awareness on why workers and their unions should not allow themselves to be used as canon-fodders by politicians.
Labour Writers should work with the NLC and TUC to organize political debates Presidential and Governorship candidates.
Labour Writers working in broadcast media should create worker and election programmes to focus on and highlight the issues of workers in 2023 elections.
Labour Writers should work closely with the political desks to ensure that workers’ issues are not relegated to the background in the countdown to 2023′
