The Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) on Wednesday in Abuja denied allegations of partisanship in favour of a particular political party.
The Chairman of the NEDG Board of Trustees, Mr Sola Omole, made the group’s position known while briefing newsmen on arrangements for the debates now billed for Feb.1 and 8.
Omole stated that the group could not have leaked the debate questions to the any political party as alleged because the questions were not even ready as of the time of the press conference.
“I’d like to state squarely that this (NEDG) is not a partisan organisation. It is a coalition of media people, civil society organisations and professional associations.
“Our interest is to ensure that Nigerians get adequate and relevant information to enhance their ability to make informed choices on voting day.
“As we speak, the questions that are going to be asked at the debates are still being worked on by our debate format committee.
“The questions are still work in progress. Therefore, there is absolutely no reason why anybody would have the questions right now.
“We are totally neutral in this process. All we are doing is to provide information to Nigerians as they head to the polls in February.”
Announcing the revised timetable of the exercise, Omole said that the vice presidential debates would now hold on
Feb.1, while the presidential debates were billed for on Feb. 8.
According to him, the International Conference Centre (ICCT), Abuja, remains the venue for both categories each of which would hold in three sessions of two hours each.
The first session, he explained, would hold between noon and 2 p.m.; the second session, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and the third session would run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Omole said that a non-participatory audience would be in the hall to witnesses the debates, which would be transmitted live by some local and international broadcast stations.
He disclosed that some foreign media organisations, including Aljazeera, had indicated interest to partner with NEDG for the debates.
Omole further stated that the group had made contacts with all the 14 political parties that would participate in the Feb. 14 presidential elections.
He described the reception of the NEDG debates by the parties as excellent, adding that 13 of them had confirmed their participation in the exercise.
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