Malam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has warned television and radio stations across Nigeria against partisanship in their reportage of the July 14 governorship elections in Ekiti state.
Kawu who gave the warning via a statement on Tuesday said broadcasters should report the elections in conformity with the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, especially the provisions relating to coverage of elections.
The commission also warned 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 which states 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 therefore reiterated that broadcast organizations were 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”, he said.
He drew the attention of broadcasters to the following sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code:
Section 5.2.12: 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.
