2023: ADC candidate, Kachikwu makes case for inclusive presidential debates
2 min read
…Says current selective approach bias, flawed
By News Editor
The Presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Dumebi Kachikwu, has called on the organizers of the Presidential debates to create enabling field for all the candidates nominated by their political parties to participate in the debates.
Kachickwu, who made the call, while addressing journalists on Monday in Abuja, argued that such inclusive will afford Nigerians opportunity to know more about the new crop of leaders participating in the presidential race and make good judgement of who they will vote for.
Kachikwu, while faulting the current selective approach adopted for the presidential debates, said that it is bias and its processes are flawed.
He explained the fact that participants for presidential debates are selected based on polls, was a bias method.
According to him, “I think the organisers of the presidential debates need to get their acts together. If they continue to sell this narrative where they want to position certain people and say those are the people who want to come for a debate, Nigerians will no longer tolerate that.
“They announced that they are going to select four candidates based on polls, and that is a flawed process because if it is based on polls, the polls will only throb those who Nigerians have known for the last two decades and that is not fair.
“When you look at the field, there are about 18 people running the presidential race. We have the old brigade, and we have a bunch of new people who are stepping up and want to run.
“So in the last 10, 20 years you’ve heard about these people, because they’ve manned the affairs of this country either as state governors, ministers and vice presidential candidates.
“You know about these people, they have brand name recognition, but they also have a brand name recognition of failure, having failed to deliver the dividends of democracy and failed to perform in offices that they’ve held.
“But they are now saying they want to do the debate based on polls of who the people already know. Of course Nigerians know these four people, they’ve been in the media for the last two decades, so Nigerians know them.
“You need to give opportunity to those who would step up now for Nigerians to see these people. The media has been doing a good job actually giving opportunities to these candidates for people to know them.
“How are Nigerians going to vote for people they haven’t heard of? You need to put all the candidates on that podium, let them debate and share their ideas. We have people who have two eyes in this country, and we need to project them.”
He noted that Nigerians need new “crop” of leaders and urged Nigerians to vote competent leaders during the 2023 general elections.
