Sen. Uche Ekwunife, representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, has called on journalists in the country not to be carriers of fake news or promoters of false allegations against public servants or people in authority.
Ekwunife made the call in Awka in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
Ekwunife said such act could undermine the personality of the people being blackmailed and possibly create awful impression of innocent people.
The lawmaker said the call became necessary as a result of the use of fake news and false allegations by the opposition against her in most of their campaigns for the 2023 general elections in the state.
Ekwunife, who is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District, challenged her opponents in the coming general elections to match her with their score cards instead of resorting to falsehood.
She accused some politicians of not showing maturity in their campaigns, adding that “their supporters have resorted to politics of calumny instead of limiting themselves to issue-based campaigns.
“Blackmails and falsehood do not augur well for Anambra politics. We should be more than this.
“Some politicians of today do not practice politics of maturity, all they do is blackmail to the extent that they forged my letter headed paper to fabricate all manner of falsehood against me.
“They are out to pull me down and malign my reputation, we have been in democratic dispensation for a reasonable time now and should play game of civilised politics.
” They are even pulling down my billboards, tearing and defacing my posters. They forgot that my billboards are in the heart of the people.
“We cannot continue like this. Just because of election, the opposition are raising false allegations and fake stories against me.
“I am vying for the senate under the PDP. I am proud of PDP. I am not gunning for the presidency,” she said.
Ekwunife advised journalists not to allow themselves to be used in publishing falsehood against any politician, saying that is a mean way to seek relevance.
Ekwunife said she had attracted many developmental projects like erosion control works, construction of solar powered street lights and boreholes in many communities, amongst others.
She said that empowering women, youths and widows are her major concern, saying she would want to see a woman take over from her after she has consolidated all her projects for the zone.
Ekwunife said she had touched lives of women, men and youths in the zone through building of houses for indigent widows, giving employment to youths, supplying tricycles as a way of economic empowerment, road intervention amongst other benefits toward ensuring the well-being of her constituents.
She said that efforts are been made by the women in the senate to give voice to the women in spite of the fact that out of 108 members of the senate only eight are women.
Ekwunife begged women to be great supporters of fellow women who are in politics, saying as women they would always have the numbers to elect candidates of their choice if they resolve to work together.
She called for support from people in order to realise her re-election bid, insisting that she had contributed much to the development of the zone.
Ekwunife, who condemned non active participation of women in politics from the grassroots to national level due to fears of opposite sex, advised women to take up their rightful position in the nation’s political cycle.
She advised women to always speak up when oppressed, adding that it is the duty of the legislature to make laws that would protect them from any face of violence.
Ekwunife said that insecurity, killings, robberies, destruction and burning of property, ongoing in the southeast would not achieve desired development needed in the zone and promised to intensified efforts toward evolving quality bills and motions to create the desired difference.
Source – NAN