Group Queries Constitutional Roles Of VPs To Warrant Media Hype About Debate

The group, Vanguard for Transparent Leadership and Democracy, has queried the constitutional roles of Vice Presidential candidates in governance to warrant the importance created around the vice presidential candidates debate held on Friday, last week.

National President of the group, Comrade (Engr) Emmanuel Odafe Igbini in a statement made available to BigPen Online on Sunday, wondered why such importance would be devoted to a debate organized by the Nigerian Election Debate Group and the Broadcast Organisation for vice presidential candidates who are “only put on standby”.

“What constitutional relevance and or importance is the office of Nigerian Vice President to warrant the media hype being created about the debate”, he queried.

According to him, “By virtue of 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, Vice President of Nigeria is only put on standby and only to act as President only when the President is absent or incapable of discharging his or her Constitutional Functions.

“Even at this, I have not seen any Vice President stepping out to act as President of Nigeria during the absence or incapacitation of the President as contemplated by the Constitution. What then is the need for this whole importance attached to a debate for the Vice Presidential Candidates?

Igbini wondered if the exercise was “another one comedy too many” in the country, saying the event end up with so many  “misleading” issues, figures and data dished out to Nigerians.

“There were some issues the APC Candidate raised in answering some questions which were made to convince Nigerians of the successes made by APC’s F.G, so also were those raised by PDP Candidate on his achievements as fmr Governor of Anambra State.

“They both also dished out and bamboozled Nigerians with figures and data we could not independently verify whether they were correct or outright deliberate falsehoods by politicians to win our hearts and votes.

“On one occasion, the PDP Candidate was very itching to react to an issue raised by the APC Candidate in order to puncture it but the moderator did not allow him. He insisted instead that the debate was not an altercation between PDP and APC.

“But after the debate we are now being told by some analysts and media that many of those figures and data dished out yesterday (Friday) particularly by the APC and PDP Candidates were not fact checked and are falsehoods to mislead Nigerians.

Igbini maintained that some of the “misleading” figures and data dished out could have been detected by the candidates during the debate if there was room for them to cross-examine themselves.

He said he had expected the moderator to allow some important national questions be answered equally by all the candidates and where any of them, particularly the incumbent raises critical points and data in favour his/her Government other Candidates should be allowed to react to counter them if need be.

The activist contended however that moderators of such debates should allow Candidates cross-examine themselves and more on incumbent candidates bearing in mind that credible general elections all over the world are more about referendum on the incumbent Governments rather than taking risk to trust the “Challengers”.