NEWS
#ThePeoplesDebate: EiE Nigeria Hosts Final Presidential Debates
‘‘We must begin to imbibe a culture by which those who aspire to lead our people are subjected to a rigorous process of public debates that will assess their suitability on objective criteria, rather than the religion they practice or where they come from’’
– Olusegun Adeniyi (Nigerian Journalist)
EiE Nigeria in partnership with TVC Communications and BBC News Africa will host The People’s Debate, the final set of presidential debates for the 2019 election cycle in a historic 5 language simulcast.
For the first time in the history of debates and presidential interviews in Nigeria, The People’s Debate will be heard in the 5 dominant languages in Nigeria – English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo & Pidgin, providing an opportunity for more Nigerians to listen to the different candidates directly in a language they prefer. The Vice-Presidential debate is scheduled for Thursday, February 7th and the Presidential Debate for Sunday, February 10th at 7pm on both dates.
Nigerians will be able to watch in English on TVC News on GOTV and DSTV and these BBC News Africa sites listed: www.bbc.com/hausa, www.bbc.com/igbo, www.bbc.com/pidgin, www.bbc.com/yoruba.
‘Yemi Adamolekun, the Executive Director of EiE said, “This is our most ambitious collaboration with the simulcast in multiple languages and we are excited about the opportunity to provide access to A larger audience. EiE has hosted, co-hosted or supported 16 debates of different formats since 2011 and we are excited to continue the tradition with other organisations.”
Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, Head of BBC West Africa Languages said “BBC Africa is pleased to be able to offer the people of Nigeria and the diaspora for the first time these debates in their own language. We hope that this will enable everyone to be part of the democratic conversation.”
The debates are part of a holistic approach to elections in Nigeria that sees elections as a process not an event. For effective citizen engagement with duty bearers, it is critical that citizens understand the roles they must play before, during and after elections through these 4 cardinal actions – Register to vote, Select credible candidates, Vote peacefully and Protect their votes on election day and during the 4 year cycle by asking questions and staying engaged. These conversations are being organized under the ‘Select’ pillar by providing a platform for citizens to engage candidates to make informed selections.
The debates are supported by BudgIT, who will be providing live fact-checking; ONE and Transition Monitoring Group (TMG).
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
NOTES TO EDITORS
Six parties and their candidates have been invited to participate in the debate. The six parties were chosen based on rankings from 4 data points, namely (1) SMS poll; (2) Aggregate of 15 online polls; (3) Google Search Analytics; (4) Field Survey engaging citizens and assessing party’s presence campaigning; (5) Party candidates vying for Senate & House of Representatives.
