The Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF), in partnership with CNBC Africa, Forbes Africa and BusinessDay, will host the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the two frontline political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to live debates to present their proposed agenda to the electorate.
The debates tagged “2015 Presidential Election Debates”, shall feature Architect Namadi Sambo, PDP’s Vice Presidential candidate and his APC counterpart, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN in the first leg of the debate, while the second leg of the debate shall feature Dr Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR and Major General (Rtd) Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, the presidential candidates of the PDP and APC respectively. The debates are slated to hold in Abuja, on February 8, 2015.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, the debates have been expressly designed to elevate the level of political discourse in our country, enhance participatory democracy as well as re-focus attention on national growth and development during this election period.
“We believe at this point in time that our people should focus more on issues-based election and critically scrutinize potential leaders before making up their minds on who they will vote for. We, along with our partners see this debate as a platform for the candidates to present their programmes so the electorate would make their choice on whom to vote for in the elections,” Oyebode said.
“The need for a debate is non-negotiable given that the development of democracy in Nigeria has increased voter sophistication,” she concluded.
Commenting on its partnership with the Foundation on the Nigeria Pre-Election Debates 2015, Frederic Van de vyver, the Executive Director of CNBC West Africa, said that the debates will attempt to address the major economic issues facing Nigeria. “We look forward to conducting a robust debate on the major economic and business issues facing Africa’s largest economy on the eve of one of the most important election since the end of military rule in 1999.”
During the Debates, the candidates will be asked to outline their general vision and development agenda for Nigeria on six thematic areas of education, health, security, job creation, economy, governance, the rule of law and foreign policy.
The debates will provide opportunity for candidates to spend quality time with potential voters, as well as offer them a collegial, conducive and credible platform to showcase their agenda for national development.
