Politics

Nigerian Communication Experts Give Verdict on 2023 Presidential Elections

Published

2 years ago

March 8, 2023

An electoral official accredits a woman to vote at a polling station

COMMUNIQUÉ

Renowned Nigerian communication teachers and practitioners under the aegis of the Consortium of Nigerian Communication Experts (CoNCE), having critically and objectively analyzed the recent presidential election campaigns and the results of the voting have concluded that although there were some positive outcomes, many things went wrong.

Among the things that were adjudged to have gone wrong in the lead up to the election were:

Divisive, unethical, and unprofessional communication campaign strategies, tactics, and messages that created unnecessary tension.
Overemphasis on religion and ethnicity and the exploitation of personal and group identify in appealing to supporters.
The unnecessary denigration of individual presidential candidates, their character, and personality.
Overpromising on the preparedness of the electoral institutions, especially INEC, which had assured the government and people of its absolute preparedness for successful conduct of free and fair elections.
The negative influence of money in buying votes and bribing electoral officers.
The unexpected decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to introduce new Naira notes within a very short time.
The use of politicians instead of trained professional communicators as spokespersons for some of the political parties.
And many others.

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Relating to the conduct of voting, the transmission, and the eventual announcement of the final results, the participants observed as follows:

INEC failed to live up to the voters’ expectations because of the delays in the delivery of voting materials in some centres.
Compared to previous Nigerian elections, the conduct of this election was generally peaceful in spite of some flashpoints of violence, voter intimidation, and under-age voting.
The much-publicized benefits of the new technologies of BVAS and iRev were not realized due to man-made errors that could have been avoided.
Although the parties produced well-thought-out and colorfully designed manifestos, they did not find much use for these in the actual media campaigns because of their penchant for non-issues and innuendos rather than specific programs.
In spite of the failures, there were free and fair voting and accurate reporting of results in many centres.
The final results, as announced by INEC, showed that the major political parties performed along the same old traditional cleavages of religion, region, and ethnicity, even with the emergence of a third party that seemed to appeal more to the youths

Recommendations:

The participants recommend that:

The political parties should appoint spokespersons who are experienced communication professionals, and as much as possible, should use only duly registered Nigerian advertising and public relations agencies.
INEC’s communication must improve its capacity to provide adequate public enlightenment and education on voting procedures to avoid such calamitous failures in future elections.
INEC and the other information and communication organs of government, especially the National Orientation Agency (NOA) must collaborate closely and be guided by the public interest.
The regulation of election campaign advertising must be sustained and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), as both a government agency and a body created to propagate the ethical conduct of advertising, should be fully empowered to discharge its functions.
Greater use of communication professionals in all aspects of election campaigns is necessary for the attainment of desirable communication results in elections and subsequently in governance.

The 13 Speakers:

This assessment workshop was the fifth in the series of communication engagements that were designed to examine the various uses of communication in the 2023 election cycle. This virtual event, which was held on Saturday March 4, attracted 145 discussants from diverse communication sectors. The 13 speakers represented the following organizations:

Tolulope Olorundero, NIPR and Nigerian Women in PR
Professor Abdullahi Bashir, President, African Council for Communication Education (ACCE).
Bunmi Oke, Past-President, Association of Advertising Agencies in Nigeria (AAAN).
Margaret Olele, CEO/General Secretary, Nigerian American Business Council.
Professor Lai Oso, Ex-President, Association of Communication Scholars and Practitioners of Nigeria (ACSPN).
Chido Nwakanma, President, International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
Emmanuel Ajufo, President, Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigerian (OAAN).
Comrade Isiguzo, President, Nigerian Union of Journalists and African Journalists Association.
Adewale Adeniyi, Vice President, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations.
Lekan Fadolapo, Director General, Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).
Everest Amaefule, Business Editor, The Punch.
Professor Samaila Mande, President, Brands Academy Nigeria.
Dr Ikechukwu Neliakuchukwu, Chairman, Rightangle PR, Abuja

Among the 145 Discussants were:

Jahman Anikulapo, veteran Journalist and Executive Director, Culture Advocates Caucus, Lagos
Bimbo Oloyede, veteran Nigerian TV journalist and producer
Biodun Adefila, Chief Operating Officer – SO & U Advertising
Oise Ihonde, Director of Sales at MODEC, Houston, Texas, United States
George Chukwu, Deputy Director National Broadcast Academy
Blaise Udunze, The Nigerian Voice, Lagos, Nigeria
Marie Awolaja, Isobar Nigeria

Who We Are: The Consortium of Nigerian Communication Experts (CONCE) is the umbrella network of academic and professional communication associations and individual patriotic Nigerians who are committed to the purposeful uses of communication in all its aspects and ramifications to promote sustainable social development through research, education, capacity building, and advocacy. We are nonpartisan and have no ideological or political party affiliation.

Links to video recording of the online workshop:

https://youtu.be/WWv77MQwSh4

https://youtu.be/RjfTuLuQXII

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PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

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Umar Iliya Damagum, Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

Two former Presidents of the Senate, Chief David Mark and Dr Bukola Saraki are leading a fresh charge aimed at removing Amb. Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The push by Mark and Saraki has received the backing of prominent stakeholders, including the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang and other political office holders elected on the platform of the PDP.

Similarly, former governors from the Northcentral zone who served on the party’s platform have also aligned forces with the group.

Rising from a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday night, the party chieftains resolved to produce a candidate from the zone early 2025 to replace Damagum.

According to them, the move to replace Damagum with a substantive chairman from the Northcentral, has received the endorsement of key party stakeholders from the Northwest and the Northeast zones.

Among those being projected as potential candidates to take Damagum’s seat include Mark; a former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam; and a former House of Representatives member from Nasarawa State, David
David Ombugadu.

A communique issued after the meeting, said the stakeholders
reviewed the festering crisis in the party following the exit of the erstwhile National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.

Ayu lost his seat to the crisis triggered by disagreements over the emergency of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election.

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The crisis has continued to deepen with the apparent overbearing influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on the Damagum-led national leadership.

The Northcentral stakeholders argued that Damagum’s continued occupation of the office breached provisions of the PDP constitution.

The communique states in part, “The PDP’s constitution clearly states that succession of offices in the party at all levels is largely to the extent that any vacant position can be replaced by appointment from the zone, as per Section 47 (6) of the party.

“The party is guided by its constitution at all times. Therefore, the leadership of the party needs to rise up to the occasion to restore goodwill and cohesion in the party by making necessary sacrifices and compromises to restore confidence and cohesion in the party.

“It is in the light of this that the stakeholders of the Northcentral Zone appeal to the conscience and goodwill of our compatriots in other zones of the Northern region to restore the seat of the chairmanship of the party back to the Northcentral Zone to serve out its tenure.

“That the stakeholders must strive to build consensus to get the buy-in to the position of Northcentral zone.

“The Northcentral is united and will strive to preserve the PDP as a veritable platform for good governance in Nigeria.”

The meeting, which was attended by Governor Muftwang, also had former Governors Jonah Jang (Plateau), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Idris Wada (Kogi) in attendance.

Others at the meeting included the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro; incumbent PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN); and a former Information Minister, Prof Jerry Gana.

Also at the meeting were former senators Tunde Ogbeha, Philip Aduda, Suleiman Adokwe, Dino Melaye, Mohammed Onawo and Peter Jiya.

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Similarly, former Ministers, Labaran Maku and Sarah Ochekpe also attended the meeting. Other stakeholders like Simon Mwadkwon, Mrs. Margaret Icheen, Mr. Raymond Dabo, Maika Jiba, and Isa Dobi were also present.

Damagum, who is from Yobe State in the Northeast zone, emerged Acting National Chairman in March 2023 following the exit of Ayu who is from Benue State in the Northcentral zone.

Damagum was the PDP Deputy National Chairman (North) before his appointment as Acting National Chairman.

By virtue of Section 47 (6) of the party’s constitution, he ought to have relinquished the seat for a substantive National Chairman from the Northcentral zone where Ayu hailed from.

The Section reads: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the Executive Committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officer.”

Ayu was elected chairman in 2022 for a four-year tenure that should expire in 2026 before his tenure got truncated in 2023.

Several moves by critical organs of the party, including the PDP Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Caucus to replace Damagum have been thwarted by the Acting National Chairman, allegedly with the backing of Wike.

Miffed by the development, the PDP Governors Forum, led by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, had, a few weeks ago, directed the Damagum-led leadership to convene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting latest by February 2025.

The NEC meeting has suffered four postponements between August and November 2024, as Damagum, who is supposed to convene the meeting has been evasive.

The power to ratify any candidate chosen by the Northcentral zone to replace Damagum is vested only in the NEC.

PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum

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PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

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4 days ago

December 19, 2024

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PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oguduokwor Ward, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has officially expelled Ali Odefa, the suspended National Vice Chairperson of the party in the South-East, following allegations of anti-party activities.

Odefa had been suspended on September 11, 2024, by the ward executives, a move that was later upheld by the Federal High Court in Abakaliki. In its ruling on November 29, 2024, under suit number FHC/AI/CS/182/2024, the court affirmed the legitimacy of his suspension.

On Wednesday, Onyeka Ovuta, the Acting Chairperson of the PDP in Oguduokwor, announced Odefa’s expulsion in a statement. Ovuta explained that the decision followed recommendations from the party’s disciplinary committee, which confirmed the allegations against Odefa.

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The party announced that Mr Odefa by the virtue of his expulsion, “ceases to be a member of the party.”

Reacting, Mr Odefa laughed off the expulsion, stating that those who announced it were “frustrated charlatans”.

He said the expulsion cannot stand because “it did not take place in the ward but in Abuja”. He said those who made the announcement against him were not ward executives of the party.

“Let them come home come and announce it. Or is our ward now located in Abuja?”

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INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

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4 days ago

December 18, 2024

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APGA National Chairman, Sylvester Ezeokenwa

INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman

Sylvester Ezeokenwa has been reinstated as the national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

Ezeokenwa was reinstated by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, December 17.

According to Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, the commission had been served with the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The apex court judgement with the Appeal No. SC/CV/824/2024 APGA & ANOR vs OYE & ORS was delivered on November 27, 2024.

The court ruled that Ezeokenwa should be recognised as the national chairman of the party.

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“In compliance with the judgement of the apex court, the Commission has restored Barr. Ezeokenwa as the Chairman of APGA and restored his name on our website accordingly,” the INEC commissioner said.

He also stated that the reisnstatmemt of the new chairman would automatically lead to the withdrawal of the recognition of Njoku as the national chairman of the party.

The court also upheld an earlier judgement of the appeal which did not confer any enforceable rights on Njoku.

If also awarded N20 million each against the appellaants.