{"id":339246,"date":"2011-03-26T01:33:05","date_gmt":"2011-03-26T01:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekarau%e2%80%99s-fears\/"},"modified":"2011-03-26T01:33:05","modified_gmt":"2011-03-26T01:33:05","slug":"presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears"},"content":{"rendered":"<div readability=\"91.2626373626\">\n<p>The Nigerian Elections Debate Group, organisers of next week\u2019s presidential debates, has appealed to the\u00a0 the presidential candidates who have decided to opt out to reconsider their positions.<\/p>\n<p>General Muhammadu Buhari (CPC); Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, (ACN); and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP) had decided to shun the debates scheduled for March 28 \u2013 30 in Abuja to show their displeasure at the absence of President Goodluck Jonathan from that organised last week by NN24.<\/p>\n<p>They said in a joint statement by their campaign organisations that \u201csince most of the agencies organising the BON debate are government parastatals, the organisers may not be in a position to resist the request for advance questions being given to the debaters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, NEDG Chairman\/CEO, Arewo Taiwo Alimi in a statement yesterday said the group was not synonymous with BON (Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria), explaining that NEDG \u201cis a broader coalition of broadcast and print media owners, as well as professional, civil society, women and youth organisations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alleging the fears of the trio, Aremo Alimi said: \u201cThe organization of 2011 Presidential Debates holding<br \/>from March 28 to 30, 2011 is open, transparent and independent.<\/p>\n<p>Questions that will be fielded to candidates are collated from questions sourced from contributions from professional groups and private persons as well as from NEDG Website and will be only made known to even the moderators \u2018on air\u201d during the Presidential Debates.<\/p>\n<p>The questions are normally from broad areas and candidates will be expected to proffer their positions on such issues.<\/p>\n<p>The Debate format and rules are strictly in line with the code of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the debates are open only to a non_participatory audience.\u00a0 The NEDG platform therefore remains the most credible, all_inclusive and most far_reaching forum that will enable candidates present directly their policies and programmes to several millions of Nigerians at home and abroad.<\/p>\n<p>NEDG therefore appeal to the Presidential candidates of ACN, CPC and ANPP to reconsider their decision not to participate in the debates, as they owe Nigerians a duty to explain their positions on issues, so that they could be properly evaluated with the incumbent President and Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, standing side_by_side.<\/p>\n<p>The NEDG wishes to use this forum to reiterate that the Presidential and Vice Presidential Debates will hold at Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja from March 28 to 30, 2011.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Comments are moderated. Please keep them clean and brief.<\/p>\n<p>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\/?ref_noscript=vanguardngr\">comments powered by Disqus.<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\">blog comments powered by <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read the rest here:<br \/>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.vanguardngr.com\/2011\/03\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekarau\u2019s-fears\/\" title=\"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> The Nigerian Elections Debate Group, organisers of next week\u2019s presidential debates, has appealed to the\u00a0 the presidential candidates who have decided to opt out to reconsider their positions. General Muhammadu Buhari (CPC); Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, (ACN); and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP) had decided to shun the debates scheduled for March 28 \u2013 30 in Abuja to show their displeasure at the absence of President Goodluck Jonathan from that organised last week by NN24. They said in a joint statement by their campaign organisations that \u201csince most of the agencies organising the BON debate are government parastatals, the organisers may not be in a position to resist the request for advance questions being given to the debaters.\u201d However, NEDG Chairman\/CEO, Arewo Taiwo Alimi in a statement yesterday said the group was not synonymous with BON (Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria), explaining that NEDG \u201cis a broader coalition of broadcast and print media owners, as well as professional, civil society, women and youth organisations.\u201d Alleging the fears of the trio, Aremo Alimi said: \u201cThe organization of 2011 Presidential Debates holding from March 28 to 30, 2011 is open, transparent and independent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-339246","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The Nigerian Elections Debate Group, organisers of next week\u2019s presidential debates, has appealed to the\u00a0 the presidential candidates who have decided to opt out to reconsider their positions. General Muhammadu Buhari (CPC); Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, (ACN); and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP) had decided to shun the debates scheduled for March 28 \u2013 30 in Abuja to show their displeasure at the absence of President Goodluck Jonathan from that organised last week by NN24. They said in a joint statement by their campaign organisations that \u201csince most of the agencies organising the BON debate are government parastatals, the organisers may not be in a position to resist the request for advance questions being given to the debaters.\u201d However, NEDG Chairman\/CEO, Arewo Taiwo Alimi in a statement yesterday said the group was not synonymous with BON (Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria), explaining that NEDG \u201cis a broader coalition of broadcast and print media owners, as well as professional, civil society, women and youth organisations.\u201d Alleging the fears of the trio, Aremo Alimi said: \u201cThe organization of 2011 Presidential Debates holding from March 28 to 30, 2011 is open, transparent and independent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-26T01:33:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/\"},\"wordCount\":439,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/\",\"name\":\"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-26T01:33:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"The Nigerian Elections Debate Group, organisers of next week\u2019s presidential debates, has appealed to the\u00a0 the presidential candidates who have decided to opt out to reconsider their positions. General Muhammadu Buhari (CPC); Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, (ACN); and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau (ANPP) had decided to shun the debates scheduled for March 28 \u2013 30 in Abuja to show their displeasure at the absence of President Goodluck Jonathan from that organised last week by NN24. They said in a joint statement by their campaign organisations that \u201csince most of the agencies organising the BON debate are government parastatals, the organisers may not be in a position to resist the request for advance questions being given to the debaters.\u201d However, NEDG Chairman\/CEO, Arewo Taiwo Alimi in a statement yesterday said the group was not synonymous with BON (Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria), explaining that NEDG \u201cis a broader coalition of broadcast and print media owners, as well as professional, civil society, women and youth organisations.\u201d Alleging the fears of the trio, Aremo Alimi said: \u201cThe organization of 2011 Presidential Debates holding from March 28 to 30, 2011 is open, transparent and independent","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears","datePublished":"2011-03-26T01:33:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/"},"wordCount":439,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/","name":"Presidential debates: NEDG allays Buhari, Ribadu, Shekarau\u2019s fears - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-03-26T01:33:05+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/26\/presidential-debates-nedg-allays-buhari-ribadu-shekaraus-fears\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339246\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}