The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, has expressed its commitment to enter into partnership with key international and local partners in the ongoing drive to strengthen the country’s democratic process to ensure peace and transparency during elections.
Treasurer of the Guild,, Yemisi Izuora, in goodwill remarks at the Multi-Stakeholders Dialogue on Rebuilding Trust in the Electoral Process, Institutions and Elections, organised by the International Press Center, IPC, and funded by European Union, said the summit offers opportunities for stakeholders, including the media, to proffer solutions to challenges that threaten elections in the country.
Izuora said, “We are indeed happy to be invited to this programme which is about creating a conducive democratic environment for our dear country.”
According to her, “From research there is no perfect democracy anywhere in the world and different countries experience one form of distortion or the other.”
However, she observed that the only unfortunate thing is that the peculiarity of electoral violence and manipulation in Nigeria and other African countries is more worrisome.
She went on to stress that a dialogue of this nature is therefore very encouraging to continuously remind us of our responsibilities as the electorate to eschew violence, like intimidation, ballot box snatching, and other political violence, among others.
The Treasurer also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for continuously addressing grey areas that give rise to some of the challenges we experienced before and after elections.
She also noted the importance of the judiciary in dealing with political litigation quickly to allow elected officers to settle down for the business of governance.
In her words, she noted, “The INEC has cultivated the culture of engaging with various stakeholders before and after elections, which is ongoing for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
“Therefore, this engagement is very encouraging, and we lend our support to it. As media practitioners, we too have a duty to ensure we discourage sensational headlines that is capable of causing violence.
“Above all, we in GOCOP is working with key government agencies to eliminate fake news whose impact has attempted to cause serious security issues.”
“Thanks for organizing this forum and I believe at the end we will be enriched and further encouraged to do what is right to sustain our nascent democracy.