Ahead of Saturday, July 14, 2018 governorship election in Ekiti State, the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Is’haq Modibbo Kawu has reminded all political parties and broadcasting stations to be mindful of their reportage in view of the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
In a statement issued in Abuja, NBC advised players in the Ekiti State Governorship elections to do so in conformity with NBC provisions relating to coverage of elections.
Kawu drew the attention of broadcasters’ relevant sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code including Section 5.2.12: which provides that “All partisan political broadcasts, campaigns, jingles, announcements and the use of all forms of partisan political party identifications or symbols on air shall end not later than twenty-four hours before polling day”.
“Section 5.2.14: A broadcaster shall not use any vote obtained at different polling stations or from exit polls, to project or speculate on the chances of the candidates.
“Section 5.2.15: A broadcaster shall broadcast election results or declaration of the winner only as announced by the authorized electoral officer for the election.
NBC while reminding all broadcast stations by this release that they have a duty to promote sustainable democracy in Nigeria, also warns that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to any erring station that operates outside the confines of the Code in accordance with section 14.0.1.
The section provides that “The Commission shall impose sanctions for any breach arising from monitoring and all complaints received on the content or conduct of a broadcast station.”
The Commission further averred that broadcast organizations were therefore expected to exercise freedom of expression as agents of society, not for any personal or sectional rights, privileges and needs of their own or of their proprietors, relatives, or supporters as highlighted in the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
