Philip Nwosu
Lagos State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called on politicians and candidates of political parties contesting various positions in 2019 to avoid hate speech and comments likely to provoke crisis.
The union called on the political parties and candidates of the parties to always have the interest of the country at heart and avoid mudsling and things that will evoke crisis within the polity.
A statement from the NUJ secretariat, in Lagos, yesterday, signed by the Chairman, Dr. Qasim Akinreti and Secretary, Alfred Odifa, urged all parties in the election to always think about the continued existence of Nigeria as an entity and not disrupt activities that are supposed to ensure economic and political growth of the country.
The NUJ reiterated that candidates must avoid hate speech, mudsling, verbal abuse and things that will not add to the growth of politicians, but should ensure that argument and debates are issue based.
They appealed to the political class to learn from the evil which befell some countries as a result of hate speech; which created tension and civil disturbances.