We Are Committed To Free, Fair And Credible Elections In Bayelsa- Police, INEC

The independent national electoral commission(INEC) and the police command in Bayesal state said they are committed to free and fair election in the up coming 2019 general elections for the people in the state and nation at large.

They made the remark at the one-day-training of Journalists on 2019 Election Coverage organised by the Baylesa Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Yenagoa on Friday.

Mr Aminu Saleh, state Commissioner of Police, said that the officers were willing to provide the security needs for the forthcoming elections and noted that the major challenge of security of lives and property in Baylesa is the terrain.

Saleh said that other challenges are manpower due to the wide area of coverages, increase of thuggery, illiteracy level among the electorates, cultism among others.

The CP, who spoke on a topic “The Challenges of Securing Lives and Property During Elections and Safety of Journalists” said that some measures had been put in place to secure not only the media but the populace.

“We are collaborating with other security agencies to boost security;  our challenge is the electorates because the voter education has been too low,” the CP said.

Mr Monday Udom, INEC’s REC in the state said the importance of the media to the conduct of elcetions could not be over-emphasised due to it fundamental roles.

Udom, represented by Mrs Ayei Obaseki, Head of INEC’s Legal Services in the state, spoke on “The  Role of Media on Election Coverage” urges the journalists to desist from partisan and be fair in reportage.

“INEC and Police will work together at ensuring that the elections are free and fair. Always be objective in reporting.

“We know that monitoring of governance is fundamental role of the media, especially during and you must do this with carefulness and accuracy,” Udom said.

The General Manager of the Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation, Dr.John Idumange, while delivering a lecture titles “Fake news: Social Media and Mainstream media” noted that there is the need for the operators of main Media and Social media to come together to crush issues of fake news on the national Media space.