* Pix source: Pulse.ng
… Says 32 Parties Have Facebook Accounts.
The Computer Guild of Nigeria (CGN) has revealed that only 10 out of 45 registered political parties by the Independent Electoral Commission(INEC)have registered and official websites.
The National President of CGN, Wole Adedoyin made this known at a press conference at the weekend in Lagos.
He stated that in a very short time, websites have become vital campaign and communication tools for political parties around the world including those in Nigeria.
Going back memory lane , Adedoyin informed that political parties and candidates in the United States started using internet during the election campaigns in 1996 while political parties in Nigeria started using it in 2001.
He added that political parties in the country embraced internet despite the fact most of them did not know what the real concept was and how to use the medium .
Many of them , he argued set up websites primarily to give the impression that they are keeping pace with technology and that the political parties and candidates nursed the fear that they may be left behind if don’t operate one.
Adedoyin, listed parties with visible websites to include:New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)@www.newnigeriapeoplesparty.org,Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) @ www.pppnigeria.org, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) @ www.apga.org, Labour Party (LP) www.labourpartyng.org, Advanced People Democratic Alliance (APDA), @ www.apdanigeria.org, All Progressives Congress (APC) @ www.allprogressivecongress.org.
Others are: Action Democratic Party (ADP), @ www.actiondemocraticparty.org, Young Democratic Party (YDP) @ www.ydp.ng, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), @ www.peoplesdemocraticparty.com.ng, KOWA Party (KP) @ www.kowaparty.net.
Similarly, Adedoyin, who is also the National Coordinator of Democratic Writers Association of Nigeria, said that only 32 parties in Nigeria have Facebook accounts.
According to him, “Website is one of the major tools for canvassing, mobilising, sensitising, educating and engaging grassroots voters. A typical party website would be strong, have detailed information on party organisation and structure including profiles of some party officials at both the national and state levels”.
He continued, “My advice to INEC is to compel all registered political parties in the country to have functioning websites so as to allow the public to have access to their programmes and manifestoes”.
