Members of the Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria (GPAAN) led by Mr. Ayo Oyoze Baje(President), Mr. Lekan Sote(Vice President) and Mr. Victor Anya(Secretary)after series of meetings recently held in Lagos have called on the candidates of the different political parties to focus their campaigns on solution-providing issues, devoid of calumny, mudslinging and all forms of hate speech.
Reviewing the state of the nation, members have similarly raised concerns over the insidious trend of vote-selling and buying, violence and the use of brute force to browbeat political opponents. GPAAN has also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security forces and would–be observers to maintain neutrality during the forthcoming general elections.
It would be recalled that in a bid to be active participants in the electoral process it held an interactive session with Dr. Joe Okei Odumakin, the Founder of the Women Arise for Change Initiative during their monthly meeting in October. It was then she delivered an insightful lecture on her vast experience in the monitoring of general elections since 2003. She has also expressed her willingness to assist the group in voter- education prior to election monitoring.
GPAAN, which has been on board since 2016 was registered by the CAC precisely on November 2, 2017 as a non-profit making and non-political association as the meeting point for all public affairs analysts in Nigeria. These include those who analyze national, international and topical issues on radio, television as well as consistently in the print media, as seasoned columnists.
Amongst its revered patrons are Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, formerly of the Mass Communications Department, UNILAG; Mr. Steve Ojo, President of Galaxy Television, Mrs. Comfort Coleman, formerly of the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) as well as Mr. Chidi Orazulike, a respected publisher.