The International Press Center, IPC, held its third “media-tweet-a-thon” at the IPC Conference Hall, Dideolu Court, Ogba, Lagos on Thursday, October 30.

The event titled, “role of the media in promoting the participation of physically challenged persons in the 2015 general elections,” is a media tweeting exercise that is used to create public awareness on issues in the society.

This year’s tweet-a-thon, revolved around the disabled persons in the society and how issues affecting them are under reported by the media.

The guest speakers at the event, Simon Ateba, a journalist and publisher of simonateba.com and Biodun Elugbaju a media practitioner at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, spoke extensively on the topic.

In his speech, Ateba said people with special needs were under reported in the media scene, saying that journalists have relegated the disabled persons issues to the background.

He went on to challenge the media to, as a matter of urgency, pay attention to issues that affect the physically challenged in the society. “Why should they bother about what PM news, The Punch, The Guardian, The Nation have to say when journalists like myself have failed them? When we have relegated their issues to the background, when we do not set agenda for them?” he asked.

Elugbaju, a visually impaired journalist, shared his experiences as a disabled citizen and as journalist. While advocating for disables to have reporting desks in newsrooms, Elugbaju said the media need to inform and educate the physically challenged about the Lagos Disability Act, in order for it to be effective.

“The law is there, but nobody knows it is there. It needs publicity. How can disabled people who are being kept at home or on the streets begging know they have equal rights with those that give them money except the media tells them?” he asked.

The media tweet-a-thon is expected to continue on twitter with the hash tag #media4elections and participants are expected their tweet to contribute to the programme.