Media professionals in Ondo State have been urged to bring critical issues affecting the people to the front burner for discourse ahead of the November 16 governorship election.

The submission was made at a two-day seminar organised for journalists in the state by the International Press Centre and the Centre For Media and Society in Akure.

The seminar with the title, “Media dialogue and stakeholders interface on credible Ondo governorship election” attracted over 40 journalists from the print, electronic and online media.

Speaking at the seminar, a resource person, Tunde Fajimbola, said that journalists have a critical role to play in the upcoming off-cycle governorship election in the state.

Mr Fajimbola, who is a senior lecturer from the Department of International Relations, Elizade University, said the media must begin to question how the candidates participating in the election hope to tackle various issues affecting the people.

He observed that there were questions bordering on developmental issues in the state, noting that journalists have to set an agenda for discourse ahead of the governorship election.

He said, “As journalists, you should discuss the real issues to the people and set the agenda for discourse now that we are preparing for the election. If the media is not setting the agenda, politicians would be diverting our attention from the real issues. The media should be talking about the governorship candidates who are seeking to govern. We should begin to set an agenda for these politicians and also measure their performance. We must begin to question how each candidate hopes to tackle the issue of security, safety, and many more areas that affect the people of the state. Let us put on the responsibility for asking the question that would solve people’s problems.’’

Executive Director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade, emphasised that the media was a critical stakeholder in the upcoming election in the state, stressing that their role was important for a free and fair exercise.

Mr Arogundade also explained that it was important that the media also perform its job of covering the governorship election while the electoral umpires make efforts to ensure a credible exercise.

He stated, “Our major objective is to sensitise the critical stakeholders about their roles and responsibilities in the electoral process. We believe we should hear from them about their state of preparation and ask questions. We should also extract commitment from them on what they will do to make sure the electoral process is also credible and you know that can only be possible if INEC does its job very well, the police and other security agencies provide adequate security.”

Executive Director of CEMESO, Akin Akingbolu and Founder of the Journalism Clinic, Tunde Obe, both tasked journalists to always ask the right and probing questions from political leaders.