OMPAN Vows To Hold Politicians Accountable


OMPAN National President Mr James Emeh with Mr. Abdullahi Lamino of Radio Nigeria Online, during a visits to the Corporation.

The Online Media Practitioners Association of Nigeria OMPAN, has vowed to ensure that elected officials are held accountable for the promises made to the people during campaigns.
Speaking at Radio Nigeria Network News on Sunday, the National President of OMPAN, Mr James Emeh said part of measures to achieve that was through organising project assessments.

“ “As an association, we have been involved in a lot of activities such as getting the elected representatives to account for the promises made to the people. How are they able to implement these promises that they made to the electorate before the election”? He said part of the measures to achieve this is through organising project assessments, organized in Abia and other states.
Mr Emeh expressed dissatisfaction that politicians apply the use of fake news and propaganda to reach out to the electorate, saying that was the reason the Association was formed in 2015 after the general election.

‘ “As online media practitioners, we asked ourselves is this good for the political system? Obviously not. So we decided to come together and find a way as practitioners, where we can collectively, first guide our members on the use of social media, the online, and the internet in disseminating this information to the masses” he said.
The National President of OMPAN, stated that as the 2019 election approaches, the Association has mapped out some strategies to curtail the extent to which people spread fake news and propaganda, which he described as retrogressive tools.
He said the Association has an internal body, charged with the responsibility of gate-keeping.
Mr Emeh insisted that the Association is not an all-comers platform, stating that before a member can be admitted into the body, a good research is conducted on their activities and what they have been using their platforms to propagate.
He also said part of measures to enhance professionalism in online media practice is the association organizing training sessions for those who do not have journalism background before venturing into online media practice.
On how to deal with erring members, the National President of OMPAN said the Association imposes fine or de-registers such members to serve as a deterrent to others.
He admitted that members face difficulties in verifying all news items, but assured that a lot is being done to enhance credibility information sources.
Mr Emeh also called on members of the public who feel defamed by the activities of online media practitioners to feel free and approach the Association for a redress.
He vowed that the mechanisms put in place to guide members will be implemented to the letter to ensure sanity in the practice

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