The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has decried the worsening state of Nigeria’s democracy, lamenting that the country’s electoral process has been hijacked by a privileged few who have turned votes into commodities for trade
President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, who made this known in Abuja during the public presentation of the Report on Electoral Trust and the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signing ceremony organised by the International Press Centre, IPC, said the political class had betrayed the people’s sovereign will.
According to him, what ought to be the sacred arena for expressing the people’s mandate has been transformed into a marketplace where votes are auctioned and democracy subverted by the powerful.
He said: “The consequences of that are reflected on the crass level of governance provided to Nigerians across all strata of government in the country. The huge suffering and the deliberate affliction of the people by those in public offices as if they are scourging Nigerians for not voting for them but they managed to find themselves into office. What we then see is the nearly 150M multi-dimensionally poor people in Nigeria; the dilapidated infrastructure across our nation; roads that are not passable, public schools that are abandoned, hospitals that are decayed and calcified public utilities and the unrestrained insecurity around the nation etc.
“The Fourth Estate must summon the courage to be a voice for the voiceless, not a megaphone for the powerful. It must publish the unvarnished truth about the entire election cycle; the pre-election rigging, the vote-buying, the intimidation, and the post-election judicial manipulations. It must resist being swamped by the tidal wave of propaganda and manipulation orchestrated by the political elite whose only interest is self-preservation.”
He commended the initiative of the IPC, describing its collaboration with the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, as “a vital act of resistance. These organisations, representing the critical fronts of gender-sensitive reporting and the dynamic digital space, are positioned to tear down the veils of deceit. They can ensure that the public is not just informed, but empowered; that politicians are not just covered, but held to account.”
The NLC president reminded journalists that the working class and the suffering masses were watching closely, adding that only integrity and courage could rebuild public trust.
“We challenge the media to stand on the side of the people. Be the mirror that reflects our reality, not the curtain that hides it. Be the compass that guides us to genuine democracy, not the tool used to legitimise its counterfeit.
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