At Debate, Organisers Knock Audience for ‘Breaking the Rules’

Chairman of the Nigerian Electoral Debate
Group (NEDG), Chief Taiwo Alimi, Thursday
lashed out at the audience in the venue of the
gubernatorial candidate debate at the Women
Development Centre Awka for not playing by
the rules.
The audience had on two occasions
applauded the candidate of the Advanced
Congress of Democrats (ACD) Dr. Ifeatu
Ekelem and his counterpart in the APC, Senator
Chris Ngige for their performance in the debate,
an action that contravened the rules governing
the exercise.
Alimi had reiterated that the rules governing
the debate were clear that no one should
applaud or react in any way and that no
member of the audience should in anyway
participate in the debate beyond observing the
candidates.
Also, indications from the outcome of
Thursday’s debate showed that the candidate
of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),
Chief Willie Obiano, might not make it to the
finals of the debate as a poll had shown.
But a participant from the Nigerian Union of
Local Government Employees (NULGE), Mr.
Amaechi Ekeledo, insisted that the rule is
‘absolutely unenforceable’ because what we
have here are human beings who would
naturally react when good points that appeal
to the heart are being made.
Ekeledo asked: “What is the debate for? Why
do they need an audience at all if all I can do
after spending time and money to come here
is to sit down and mope? We all might as well
go home and leave the debate officials here,
and watch it in television since there is a live
transmission anyway.”
Bruce Oguajulu of Alliance for Democracy
agrees with Ekeledo, when he said “It is
extremely difficult to say that people should
not one way or another show emotions. In fact
since my secondary school days, all debates
that I have attended had provisions for
debaters to score marks based on audience
reaction to their delivery.
“This stooge approach cannot work, so
(Taiwo) Alimi and his people should take a
second look at that section of the rule because
noting is perfect.”
A teacher, Ndu Igwedibia, however differed
because according to him “the rules were
clear before the blast of the whistle and those
who could not adhere could have stayed at
home and viewed it on television.
Attendance at yesterday’s debate was poor
with observers crediting it to the fact that the
audience did not only have any role to play
but tied to too many inhibitions.
Meanwhile, the fact that Obiano may not make
it to the finals reserved for six candidates this
evening became manifest when out of a
sample of 30 persons interviewed at an exit
poll conducted at the venue, 14 voted the
candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Senator Chris Ngige, as their first
choice candidate in the first session of the
debate; six voted Dr Ifeatu Ekelem of ACD, five
for Austin Nwangwu of CPP and four for
Obiano and one for Aaron Igwe.
Ngige however identified energy as the only
reason many industries are dead in Anambra
State and promised to reverse the trend by
buying an Independent Power Project that
would inject 1000 megawatts of electricity into
the state.
But Obiano recorded a major contradiction,
promising to get the state’s oil refinery at
Aguleri working in his first 100 days in office,
only to declare at the later part of the debate
that he would ensure the refinery works within
the first nine months in office.
Both candidates fielded questions from a
three-man panel on what was considered the
most critical issue in the state and what they
would do to tackle it in the first 100 days in
office.
Obiano, who was late to the debate, had
claimed that a motor accident forced him to
use another route to the venue and was
warned twice by the moderator, Nancy Ilo, to
desist from personal attacks.
Ngige who said the most critical problem in
Anambra was security, added that “I will
address this issue from the curative approach
in my first 100 days in office.”
Apart from Ngige and Obiano the other
candidates who participated the debate held
at the Women Development Centre Awka were
Mr Chika Jerry of Action Alliance; Ekelem of
ACD; Aaron Igweze of Alliance for Democracy
(AD); Anthony Anene of the Action Congress
Party of Nigeria (ACPN) and Austin Nwangwu
of Citizens Popular Party (CPP). stood out as
the best for Anambra State as he would bring
dynamism to the governance of the state.
“Masters of Ceremonies hold the power to
educate the citizens on the functions and
actions of the government and are a very
important segment of the information
dissemination machinery that should be
harnessed by governments to inform and
educate the people,” he said.