By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
As the 2027 General Elections draw nearer, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has appealed to media practitioners to publicise the activities and challenges faced by vulnerable people, including those living with disabilities.
The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mr Mohammed Kudu Haruna, gave the advice in Enugu, Enugu State, during a forum organised for Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ); Nigerian Institute of Social Media Analysts (NISMA); Newspapers Publishers Association of Nigeria (NPAN); and Media Executives in Southeast, South-South and South West Geopolitical Zones.
Haruna, while addressing the theme for the forum, ”Ethical and Professional Standards in Election Reporting ahead of 2027 General Elections”, argued that media practitioners often forgot the vulnerable in their reports after mentioning them only in passing.
‘Coverage should also reflect the full electorate. Women, young people and persons with disabilities are too often absent from election stories, except as statistics. Their experiences, and the barriers they face in getting to the polling unit, deserve a place in your reporting,’ he maintained.
He further urged the forum to support the Commission in three ways such as sustenance of voter education, especially on Permanent Voter Card collection and turnout, investigation and exposing of vote buying, debunking disinformation, including deepfakes and fake accounts, which are considered as offences under the Cybercrimes Act.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC in Enugu, Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwu, who read the IVEC remarks, explained that the Commission regarded the media as credible stakeholders that assisted greatly in giving credibility to election and electoral processes.
He noted that ‘In this period, no institution stands closer to the electoral process than the media. Most Nigerians will never see a polling unit being set up, a BVAS device at work or a result sheet being signed. They will know these things only through what you tell them. In many ways, public confidence in our elections rests on the credibility of your reporting.
‘Ethical election reporting is not a favour to INEC; it is a service to the public. It means verifying before publishing, however tempting it is to be first. It means remembering that results are declared only by the Commission, through its duly appointed Returning Officers, so that projections and unofficial tallies must be labelled for what they are. It means separating news from political advertising, avoiding hate speech and inflammatory language, giving fair space to all candidates and parties, and correcting errors promptly and prominently.’
For Objectives and Expectations, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, Director, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP), explained that the forum was part of their effort to build a working partnership with the media ahead of the 2027 General Elections by promoting a shared understanding of the ethical and professional standards that should guide election reporting, including accuracy, fairness, impartiality and verification.
Eta-Messi added that ‘Our expectations from the forum are for participants to engage actively with the presentations on ethical standards, technological innovations, the Electoral Act 2026 and voting procedures, and return to their newsrooms and platforms as ambassadors of accurate reporting, sharing what they have learned with colleagues.
‘Media organisations will consider election desks, editorial guidelines and fact-checking arrangements for the 2027 cycle; journalists and social media analysts will verify with the Commission’s official channels before publishing election-related claims, await official declarations by Returning Officers before announcing results, and will not amplify inflammatory or violent slogans that endanger electoral officials, voters and observers; newspapers, broadcast stations and online platforms will give sustained space and airtime to voter education.’
Also speaking, the HoD, ICT/VR, Enugu State, Mr Frank Iyahen, said the Commission had created an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division in the ICT department as part of their journey towards the responsible adoption of AI.
‘AI presents enormous opportunities to improve operational efficiency, planning, service delivery, data analysis and decision support. However, our approach is deliberate and responsible. AI is not intended to replace human judgment. Rather, it is intended to assist staff, improve operational effectiveness and support informed decision-making while maintaining transparency, accountability, ethical governance and human oversight.
‘Enugu State which hosted the last South East 2027 General Election Readiness Assessment suggested a collaboration between its Voter Education Department and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division of the ICT Department HQ to convert Voter Education Text Messages to AI Videos and Graphics in Igbo and Pidgin English for Voter Education information dissemination. This Cost Saving and Direct Communication Methodology can be replicated in the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT to drive Voter Education messages across all sections of Nigerians,’ he noted.
Speaking on ethical and professional standards in election reporting, another Director in the Commission, Mr Osaretin Imaheyierobo, urged the media to refrain from engaging in hate speech and spread of information disorders because, according to him, this could lead to harassment from political actors.
Other speakers, including Mrs Christiana Joseph-Chima, the Head of Department, Electoral Operations (Enugu State), and Mr Sunday Nwigboke, the HoD of Legal Services, Enugu State, reassured the public of their commitment to following the Electoral Act and guidelines during the various elections, adding that only those with valid permanent voter’s card (PVC) would vote.
In a goodwill message earlier, the Chairman, NUJ Enugu State Council, Comrade Obinna Ogbuka, called for a sustained synergy, engagement and training so as to enable the Forth Estate of the realm and social media gurus to play their roles responsibly during and after the elections.
