The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; a former Minister of Information and Communication, Frank Nweke Jr., are among the dignitaries expected at the Tuesday, July 25 public presentation of a book written by Omoniyi Ibietan, the head of media relations at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
While Mr Akpabio will serve as the special guest of honour at the event scheduled for the main auditorium of the Communications and Digital Economy Complex, Mbora District, Abuja, Mr Abbas will attend the ceremony as the guest of honour.
Mr Nweke, the Enugu State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the last elections, will chair the event. The book’s author was Mr Nweke’s special assistant on media during his ministerial term.
Among several other dignitaries expected at the event are the immediate past Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo (rtd); the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman; the founder of Agora Policy Think Tank and former Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Waziri Adio; the Executive Director, Centre for Democracy and Development, Idayat Hassan; the Chief Executive Officer, Premium Times Group, Dapo Olorunyomi; the Deputy Dean, School of Postgraduate School, Baze University, Prof Abiodun Adeniyi; and the Executive Director, CARE International, Dr Hussaini Abdu.
Published by Premium Times Books, the publishing arm of the Premium Times Group, the book, “Cyber Politics: Social Media, Social Demography and Voting Behaviour in Nigeria”, has been described as a classic offering with significant implications for political communication scholarship and practice.
The book has been adjudged to have an interesting universe that uses the Nigerian election to determine how social media communication influences a cocktail of “five electoral totems: voting behaviour, the social and demographic correlation, comparative social media network with respect to the effectiveness of influences, motivation of social media influencers, and stimulus-response likely to enhance the quality of electoral democracy.”
Umar Danbatta, a professor and executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, where the author works, will present the book to the public. Azubuike Ishiekwene, renowned journalist, writer and editor-in-chief of Leadership Newspaper, will review the 460-page book, spread over 12 chapters.
The event will also feature a panel discussion to dissect the interface of politics and social technology, how they shaped the last two general elections in Nigeria, and the possible implications of cyber politics in future elections.
The book has been available in hardback and softback versions in bookstores across the country since 12 June 2023. The electronic copies of the book can also be purchased on online platforms, including Amazon.