Edo Independent Media Survey Group (EDIMSG)has decried the perceived media<\/p>\n
manipulation of the conduct and outcome of the Edo governorship election
\ndebate organised by CHANNELS Television in collaboration with Enough is
\nEnough Nigeria Group.
\nIn a statement by its Coordinator, Mr Francis Ehigiator, EDIMSG said it
\nwas sad and a great disservice to the organisers of the debate and the
\nelectorate in Edo for a section of the media to deliberately distort,
\nfabricate and manipulate “the true reflections of the debate.”<\/p>\n
It stated that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor
\nOsagie Ize-Iyamu performed better than its All Progressives Congress APC)
\ncounterpart, Mr Godwin Obaseki as well as the other two candidates of All
\nProgressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Osaro Onaiwu and Labour Party (LP), Mr
\nAreologbe.<\/p>\n
According to the group, “At a time when we thought the political debate
\norganised by the Channels Television and Enough is Enough (EiE) group has
\nfinally afforded the people of Edo State and the bulk of the undecided
\nvoters a great opportunity to make an informed choice in electing a
\npreferred Governor on September 10, 2016, we have sadly been regaled with
\ntales of dangerous manipulations of its outcome by a section of the media.<\/p>\n
“They have ingloriously taken an advantage of the influence of the media
\nin the public space to distort, fabricate and outrightly manipulate the
\ntrue reflection of the debate.<\/p>\n
“As a concerned group, we are therefore compelled to set the records
\nstraight for posterity; and aside rendering this citizen-driven service,
\nwe wish to urge those who could not watch the live telecast, and other
\nunsuspecting members of the public, to please devote time and watch the
\ncomplete online version of the debate on the Channels TV YouTube videos,
\nbroken down in 9 parts.<\/p>\n
“The fact of this matter speaks for itself and does not require this
\nneedless concoction in some media outlets. The people of Edo State, who
\nwatched the proceedings live, were in a better position to gauge the
\npreparedness, boldness and mental alertness of the four candidates that
\nparticipated in the exercise.<\/p>\n
“Consequently, we make bold to say that there is no iota of truth in the
\nsectional report doing the round that the APC governorship candidate,
\nGodwin Obaseki, won the debate. This is not true and does not sincerely
\nreflect what transpired, if we, as a body, were to score the candidates on
\nthe basis of: composure, grasp of issues, problem-solving skills,
\nsolution-driven plans, governance matters and adequate information about
\nEdo State. ”<\/p>\n
The group said further, “Aside the fact that Obaseki left it very late to
\nmake a good impression of himself, he was below average in public speaking
\nas evident in his approach to most of the questions asked, and he also had
\nno convincing grasp of his own manifesto throughout the debate.<\/p>\n
“There is no doubt he could have performed better and above average if he
\nhad participated in the two previous debates organised in the State on the
\nelection. Obaseki appeared dazed right from the start of the debate, even
\nthough he later managed to pick up. These facts are there in the complete
\nonline video of the event for any informed rating as against some twisted
\nscenarios.<\/p>\n
“If at all we want to score the four candidates based on our independent
\nobservation and sincere analysis of the debate, it was obvious that the
\nPDP Gubernatorial candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, during the night,
\nperformed far better than the other three candidates.<\/p>\n
“He demonstrated a good knowledge of the challenges confronting the State
\nand was never lacking in providing convincing responses to issues.
\nEvidently, until when those who hatched the twisting of narratives in a
\nsegment of the media developed the ball to do so midnight, the social
\nmedia was a one-sided narrative in favour of Ize-Iyamu as could be seen
\nunder the hashtag #EdoDecides on Twitter and Facebook. Facts don’t lie.<\/p>\n
“As a group, we were actually looking out for surprises on the night against
\nIze-Iyamu having watched him in the last two debates – and the reason we
\nwere not initially obliged to make any critical appraisal of the debate.”
\nThe group called on other independent survey groups and responsible media
\norganisations to watch the video of the debate and, if need be, take a
\nsecond look at it and come up with an unbiased and informed analysis.<\/p>\n
“The lesson here for those who are desperately trying to manipulate the
\noutcome of debate in favour of Obaseki is to, next time, take the
\nadvantage of all debate platforms and opportunities even in enemy’s
\nterritory. As long as you have something to offer and with superior
\npoints, it will always be obvious to all,” the group added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Edo Independent Media Survey Group (EDIMSG)has decried the perceived media manipulation of the conduct and outcome of the Edo governorship election debate organised by CHANNELS Television in collaboration with Enough…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n