THE PEOPLE’S DEBATE: FINAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IN HISTORIC 5 LANGUAGE SIMULCAST TODAY
‘‘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 Presidential Debate is TODAY, Sunday, February 10th at 7pm.
Nigerians will be able to watch in English on TVC News online, on GOTV, DSTV and Wazobia Max TV. Citizens will also be able to listen to the debate on Wazobia FM, Nigerian Info FM and all FRCN network stations including the Yoruba, Igbo & Hausa stations translating in real time. This will be the first time in FRCN’s history to offer a language simulcast.
‘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.”
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!
Enough is Enough Nigeria (www.eie.ng) is a non-partisan network of individuals and organizations committed to instituting a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria through active citizenship. EiE’s#RSVP – Register|Select | Vote | Protect is a key voter education campaign. EiE was an integral part of the#OccupyNigeria movement in 2012 and is very active in the #OpenNASSand #OfficeOftheCitizen campaigns.
ONE (www.one.org) is a campaigning and advocacy organisation of over 9 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Nigeria accounts for 2.4 million members. Not politically partisan, we raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programmes. ONE is nonpartisan.”
BudgIT (www.yourbudgit.com) is a civic organization that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement, to facilitate societal change. A pioneer in the field of social advocacy melded with technology, BudgIT uses an array of tech tools to simplify the budget and matters of public spending for citizens, with the primary aim of raising the standard of transparency and accountability in government.
Transition Monitoring Group (www.tmgnigeria.wordpress.com) is the foremost independent civil society election observation organization in Nigeria. It seeks to secure the highest standards in the administration of elections in Nigeria by ensuring that the election management body and the electorates carry out their responsibilities during elections in accordance with the Law and internationally recognized standards for free and fair elections.
TVC Communications
TVC (tvcnew.tv) is one of Nigeria’s leading private media enterprises with 3 TV channels and a radio station. In 2018 it won the Nigeria Media Merit Award (NMMA) for Best Television Station of the year.
BBC
BBC World Service’s BBC Africa hub brings together the production of multilingual content about the continent on radio, on TV and online on bbcafrica.com. As it delivers content in Afaan Oromo, Amharic, English, French, Hausa, Igbo, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Pidgin, Somali, Tigrinya, Kiswahili and Yoruba. BBC Africa ensures a pan-African approach to the output, offering its audiences opportunities to join the global conversation.