Shortly before the two major parties, APC and the PDP commenced their campaigns, they committed to issues-based campaigns.

The idea is to enable voters make informed choices of the parties to cast their votes for, based on their assessment of the manefestoes and programmes of the parties.

But Daily Sun reports that so far, some of the contents and messages coming out of the campaigns, have fallen short of the parties’ earlier undertakings. The campaigns are filled with name-calling, mudslinging and outright insults and personal attacks.

Critical observers argue that the messages so far are not what the voters want to hear. The voters, in their views, want to hear how the parties intend to make positive changes that would bring about improved condition of their living standards.

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The expectation in many quarters is that the two parties need to rein in their supporters in the social media to refrain from insults and personal attacks and concentrate on selling their candidates and their programmes to the electorate.

It is in the light of the above that the APC and the PDP, again re-iterated their commitment to issues-based campaigns.

“As a party, we are insisting on issues-based campaigns. You notice we are talking about reform, we are showcasing our report cards, the things we are doing. It is the opponent that is going on with other issues, attacking the governor.

“At times, we are forced to react. But officially from our campaign office, there are some things that we feel are frivolous and we do not bother reacting but at the same time, we cannot control the social medial space because 99 percent of people there, they are not working under our handle. They are reacting to what they hear and you cannot tell people not to react when they hear a party campaigning and talking of lion and tigers. People must react to that because scare tactics, intimidation, is not the strategy. We are appealing to our opponent to desist from such scare tactics.”