The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had launched an online newspaper in order to intimate Nigerians of its activities, especially as the 2019 elections draw closer.
The platform was recently launched by the commission’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, said.
The statement noted that “the sheer magnitude of newsworthy events taking place on a daily basis at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, state and local government offices cannot be entirely accommodated by the traditional and social media platforms in the country.”
Oyekanmi added, “No doubt, we currently enjoy tremendous support from the media. But from my observation, traditional and online newspapers, television and radio stations have competing demands and other economic considerations that often compel them to ration the space or airtime allocated to news about INEC.
“And sometimes, stories about INEC are distorted or not put in proper context. So we felt that having an online newspaper where our stakeholders can go and obtain detailed information about the goings on at the commission nationwide was desirable.
“INEC is a big bureaucracy with a long history. It is composed of a chairman, 12 national commissioners (there are 11 at the moment), 37 Resident Electoral Commissioners (15 have yet to be appointed), a secretary, directors and over 16,000 staff members spread across its headquarters, state and local government offices.”
