The Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu has urged journalists to make political manifestos central to election coverage, stressing the need to hold politicians accountable to their campaign promises.
At the ninth Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Lagos on Thursday, Issa-Onilu decried the media’s focus on sensationalism over substance, noting that manifestos shape governance and democratic outcomes.
He revealed that President Bola Tinubu’s campaign manifesto took months to craft and reflects his reform-driven vision anchored on technology.
Keynote speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, who was Speaker of the House of Representatives and later Governor of Katsina State, called for sincerity and strategic planning in bridging campaign promises with governance realities, while a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George urged leaders to utilise national resources for citizens’ benefit.
One of the discussants, Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, who is the Director of the Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Lagos, commended journalists for promoting accountability and emphasised the role of social media in demanding transparency.
Outgoing GOCOP President, Maureen Chigbo expressed gratitude for members’ support, highlighting the Guild’s growth and professionalism.
She urged the new executives, Danlami Nmodu to sustain GOCOP’s credibility and uphold journalistic ethics.
