The Ondo State chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has criticized Channels Television for its decision to restrict the upcoming governorship election debate to candidates from only the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), calling the move unrepresentative of the political reality in the state.
In a statement, the Director of Publicity for the Labour Party Campaign Organisation, Johnson Egbodofo, condemned the organizers for excluding the LP candidate from the live debate, which is set to air on Sunday, November 3, ahead of the November 16 governorship election.
He disclosed that the LP had notified the organizers of the exclusion and requested a correction, but no action was taken.
“The Labour Party and its candidate in the Ondo State Governorship Election scheduled for November 16, 2024, have noted an advert by Channels Television promoting a live debate limited to the APC and PDP candidates, which Channels has misleadingly labeled as the two leading candidates in the election,” Egbodofo said.
He asserted that portraying only the APC and PDP candidates as frontrunners was a deliberate attempt to sway public perception and limit voters’ options.
“As a media-friendly organization, we reached out to Channels and its officials, including the debate anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, urging them to avoid using their influential platform to mislead the public.
We asked that they offer the people of Ondo State and their global audience a fair opportunity to assess all candidates in the race,” Egbodofo added.
The Labour Party emphasized the importance of media impartiality in democratic processes, calling for fair representation of all political parties and candidates in the election debate.
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