As Nigeria counts all the way down to the 2027 normal election, considerations over misinformation and declining public belief have positioned a higher duty on the Independent National Electoral Commission and the media to make sure correct, moral and clear election reporting, writes Oluchi Chibuzor
With about 100 days to the primary poll of the 2027 election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) are confronting a actuality that goes past poll papers, voting expertise and election-day logistics. Nigeria’s subsequent election may also be a contest for public belief.
That was the central message that ran by a Strategic Workshop for Editors organised by the NGE in collaboration with INEC in Abuja this week. Bringing collectively electoral officers, editors and specialists, the workshop was extra concerning the troublesome relationship between elections and data in an more and more fragmented media setting.
Nigeria is approaching one other main electoral cycle at a second when residents eat data by a unprecedented mixture of conventional newsrooms, social media platforms, messaging functions, citizen-generated content material and more and more refined synthetic intelligence instruments. In such an setting, a hearsay can journey sooner than a verified truth, whereas a manipulated video can purchase the looks of fact earlier than an official establishment has time to reply.
For INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, that makes public confidence maybe a very powerful asset within the electoral course of.
“Electoral trust is not a legal presumption, nor is it an administrative inheritance; it is a precious public currency earned through consistent, verifiable performance and radical transparency,” he advised the editors.
Amupitan was express that the connection he envisages shouldn’t be one by which journalists give up their watchdog function.
“Our goal throughout this engagement is to forge a strategic alignment — a shared commitment that while you remain fiercely independent in holding us accountable, we operate from a common foundation of verified facts, institutional transparency, and democratic patriotism,” he mentioned.
That distinction issues. A reputable electoral course of requires an impartial media able to questioning INEC simply as a lot because it requires an electoral fee keen to reply these questions.
Beyond the data problem, INEC used the workshop to stipulate its operational preparations for 2027.
The Commission mentioned it had efficiently accomplished eight of the 14 main statutory actions contained in its revised timetable and was advancing in the direction of the ninth. The timetable, issued on February 26, 2026, has been translated into an operational plan involving INEC’s 23 headquarters directorates, 36 state workplaces, the Federal Capital Territory and all 774 native authorities workplaces.
Perhaps essentially the most rapid milestone for voters is the graduation of nationwide assortment of Permanent Voters’ Cards on October 9.
According to INEC, the three phases of Continuous Voter Registration carried out between August 2025 and July 2026 produced greater than 10.6 million new candidates, topic to biometric verification. The Commission mentioned its ultimate Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup had been accomplished and that the National Register of Voters now stands at greater than 103 million.
The PVC assortment train due to this fact represents an necessary level at which electoral participation strikes from registration to sensible readiness. INEC appealed to editors to make use of their platforms to tell residents about assortment areas and encourage registered voters to gather their playing cards promptly.
INEC mentioned it had strengthened the {hardware}, software program and cybersecurity parts of its electoral expertise structure. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, or BVAS, has undergone software program hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration, whereas 57,000 new BVAS units have been acquired.
Other improvements highlighted on the workshop included on-line voter registration, downloadable or printable PVC expertise and the usage of synthetic intelligence to detect anomalies in database visitors and strengthen cybersecurity.
Yet expertise, because the workshop discussions made clear, shouldn’t be a substitute for belief. A technologically refined election can nonetheless be undermined by poor communication, misinformation, insufficient logistics or public suspicion. Conversely, clear communication may help residents perceive why methods are being deployed, what they’re designed to realize and what their limitations are.
INEC’s readiness evaluation is due to this fact extending past pc methods. The Commission mentioned it had accomplished bodily audits and workers engagements within the South-west and North-west geopolitical zones, inspecting services, safe-storage preparations, safety protocols and logistics networks, with the remaining zones scheduled for evaluation.
There can be an inner dimension to credibility. Amupitan harassed that an electoral system can solely be as dependable because the folks working it.
INEC mentioned all electoral officers and non permanent personnel are required to take an oath of neutrality and warned that officers discovered participating in partisanship, negligence or compromised conduct would face administrative motion.
Another risk recognized on the workshop was vote-buying. INEC mentioned it was taking an uncompromising place towards the shopping for of votes and was working with establishments together with the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to strengthen monitoring of marketing campaign finance and monetary inducement.
“The integrity of the ballot box is fatally compromised when a citizen’s vote is treated as a commodity for sale,” Amupitan mentioned.
Editors as ‘Final Filter’
Amupitan described editors because the “final filter” in an period of knowledge dysfunction. In his phrases, the media is the bridge between the electoral establishment and the general public, with editors carrying the duty of translating difficult electoral legal guidelines, procedures and operational developments into data strange residents can perceive.
“When newsrooms prioritise factual accuracy over sensational headlines, when reports contextualise field logistics rather than default to inflammatory speculation, and when information is verified before publication, you perform a sacred public service,” he mentioned.
INEC warned that the results might lengthen past harm to the Commission’s fame.
“When fake news spreads, it does not merely damage INEC’s reputation; it attacks the democratic fabric of our nation,” Amupitan mentioned.
That locations a brand new duty on the newsroom. The conventional intuition to be first should more and more compete with the duty to be proper. In an election, a improper report a few consequence, a safety incident or a logistical downside can have penalties far past an strange information cycle.
Amupitan described democracy as “a journey, not a destination.” His enchantment was for editors, civil society and INEC to construct what he referred to as a standard entrance towards threats to democratic stability.
“If we stand together—Editors, CSOs, and INEC—we create a fortress that no amount of electoral malpractice or political mischief can breach,” he mentioned.
An election doesn’t turn into credible just because an electoral administration physique says it’s ready. Citizens should consider that their votes will depend, that the method is clear and that complaints can be heard. Political events will need to have confidence that the principles can be utilized pretty, whereas journalists and civil society organisations should be capable of scrutinise the method with out being handled as adversaries.
That was additionally the purpose made by NGE President, Mr. Eze Anaba, who argued that elections are basically about belief.
“Elections are not merely about casting ballots. They are about trust. They are about citizens believing that their votes will count, that the process will be transparent and that the institutions responsible for conducting elections will act fairly and professionally,” Anaba mentioned.
For the media, that duty is heavy as a result of editors sit between an more and more noisy data setting and residents attempting to make sense of what’s occurring round them. They decide which claims obtain prominence, that are challenged, that are verified and that are rejected.
The NGE president acknowledged the issue. The media, he mentioned, can’t successfully carry out its watchdog function with out credible, well timed and accessible data from the electoral administration physique.
“In an environment increasingly polluted by misinformation, disinformation, manipulated content, deepfakes and partisan narratives, the relationship between INEC and the media must therefore be one founded on openness, mutual respect and regular engagement,” Anaba mentioned.
For the NGE, the target is equally broader than bettering election-day reporting. Anaba mentioned the Guild needs the engagement to mark the start of a stronger and extra structured partnership between the electoral fee and the media.
“The credibility of the media is itself an essential component of the credibility of the electoral process,” he mentioned.
Trust and Responsible Reporting
In his presentation, a former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun and presently lecturer at Paul University, Tony Onyima, in his presentation emphasised that electoral integrity depends upon correct, moral and accountable reporting, alongside efficient enforcement of electoral legal guidelines. He urged editors to fight misinformation, keep away from sensationalism and guarantee balanced protection, whereas stressing the significance of journalists understanding electoral legal guidelines and holding political actors and establishments accountable to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral course of.
“Media and INEC need to work together to build trust. Some Nigerians don’t trust the media just as some don’t trust INEC. So, there is need for more engagements to build that trust,” he added.
A former INEC Commissioner, Prof. Lai Olurode, urged the media to all the time authenticate their report and by no means to draw back from asking the powerful questions. He emphasised that technological innovation alone can’t assure credible elections, stressing the significance of transparency, efficient communication, cybersecurity, institutional capability and sustained public belief in INEC and electoral outcomes.
In her contribution, Lobe Hvass, who represented UNICEF, examined how credible election governance shapes the way forward for Nigerian youngsters, stressing the duty of electoral establishments, political actors, media and residents to advertise clear, peaceable and accountable elections. She highlighted the necessity to defend democratic values at present in order that future generations inherit a secure, inclusive and affluent Nigeria.
Also, the Editor-in-Chief, Media Review, Mr. Lanre Idowu, spoke on the necessity to create a protected electoral setting the place voters are capable of train their franchise with out intimidation, whereas journalists report freely and election officers carry out their duties with out threats or violence. He additionally highlighted danger prevention, safety coordination, skilled conduct and safety of electoral personnel as important to credible elections.
Executive Director, International Press Centre, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, identified the rising risk of knowledge dysfunction to Nigeria’s electoral course of, specializing in misinformation and disinformation. He urged to get acquainted with sensible fact-checking instruments, moral gatekeeping rules and accountable reporting approaches to confirm claims.
The workshop proposed a extra structured relationship between INEC and the media. The Commission referred to as for newsrooms to prioritise digital fact-verification desks and provided direct entry to its officers for verification of subject incidents, logistics and safety reviews.
It additionally pledged to work with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to guard accredited journalists and election responders at polling models and collation centres.
The central lesson from the Abuja workshop is due to this fact that Nigeria can’t construct credible elections by expertise alone. Trust is constructed when establishments do what they are saying they’ll do, when residents can confirm data, when journalists ask troublesome questions and when political actors settle for that democracy is greater than the ambitions of particular person candidates.
As Nigeria counts all the way down to the 2027 election, the duty is consequently not solely to organize polling models, however to additionally put together the data setting by which Nigerians will expertise the election.
