The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate for 2019 elections in Ebonyi, Sen. Soni Ogbuoji, has urged his media campaign team to be objective in their reportage.

Ogbuoji, who spoke at the inauguration of members of the media strategy team on Friday in Abakaliki, promised to run an issue-based campaign, free of violence and hate speech.

The governorship candidate, currently the Senator representing Ebonyi South Senatorial District, was represented by Mr Ikenna Emewu, Head of the Ogbuoji Campaign Directorate.

He urged members of the media team to maintain high ethical conduct in the discharge of their sacred responsibility, insisting that the campaign must be issue- based and devoid of violence.

Ogbuoji said that free and responsible press remained a catalyst for promoting credible and peaceful electioneering activities and warned against what he described as destructive propaganda.

“The role of the media in mobilising the electorate to participate in the electioneering process and promoting policies and manifesto of political parties cannot be over-emphasised.

“We intend to run a campaign devoid of calumny, character assassination, violence and hate-speech; and the press has a greater role to play in this regard.

“Therefore, your duty is to use your various platforms to market our manifesto, our programmes and policies that we intend to pursue if elected.

“You must exercise deep sense of responsibility and commitment in reporting the electioneering process and eschew acts that will portray us in bad light before the electorate, ‘’ he said.

Ogbuoji was optimistic that APC would win the governorship and other elections in Ebonyi in 2019, having put in place all necessary measures.

No fewer than 10 media practitioners drawn from various media organisations including those in the new media were inaugurated.