The Nigeria Elections Debate Group
(NEDG) on Monday in Abuja said the 2015 presidential debates would hold between
Jan. 28 and Feb 5.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees
of NEDG, Mr. Sola Omole, disclosed this to newsmen after a meeting of the
board, hosted by the former Chairman of Daar Communications Plc, Chief Raymond
Dokpesi.
Omole said that the Directors-General
of the Presidential Campaign Organisations of the 14 participating political
parties would open the floor on Jan. 28.
This, according to him, will be
followed by the Vice-Presidential debates, billed for Jan. 29.
He said the debates involving the
presidential candidates would hold in two sessions and would climax on Feb. 5.
Omole said that the group had contacted
all the parties involved, adding that they all support the idea.
``We believe that debates are very
important components of the democratic process aimed at giving the candidates
the opportunity to speak directly to Nigerians.
``We want the Nigerian community to get
used to the business of debating issues and we feel that this is a very strong
part of building that culture.
``We have met with all the political
parties, those we couldn’t meet directly, we contacted their senior officials
and they are very supportive of the initiative,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
reports that NEDG is a coalition of broadcast, civil society and professional
organisations, committed to deepening the country's democracy.
It is also aimed at entrenching an
enduring democratic culture through organised television debates since the
return of democratic rule in 1999.
NEDG has put together the presidential
debates to give the Nigerian electorate an opportunity to hear directly from
all the presidential candidates. (NAN)
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