Political actors yet to learn from mistakes — Bilbis

A former Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Ikra Bilbis, has observed that politicians have not learnt much from mistakes with the manner with which they are going about campaigns with hate remarks.

Bilbis made the observation at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop with the theme: “Coverage of 2015 Elections: Challenges, Regulatory Framework and Way Forward for a More Democratic Society”, organised by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in Sokoto.

He noted with dismay how politicians were promoting hate speech across the country.

“The hate speeches and harsh words allowed in traditional media in 2015 reached a zenith during the final campaigns. Today, all over the zones, politicians are promoting hate speech,” he said.

Bilbis, who is the Board Chairman of NBC, said there was the need to exhaustively review what happened in 2015 and learn lessons for subsequent elections.

“That is why NBC commissioned a robust study on the 2015 elections and the validation of the report would be done here today,” he said.

He also frowned at excessive speculations and rumours in elections’ coverage and reportage, as well as denial of airtime by broadcast stations to opposition parties.

These actions, he said, negated broadcasting codes and the Electoral Act. the