2027: INEC, Media and Battle for Public Trust

As Nigeria counts down to the 2027 general election, concerns over misinformation and declining public trust have placed a greater responsibility on the Independent National Electoral Commission and the media to ensure accurate, ethical and transparent election reporting, writes Oluchi Chibuzor With about 100 days to the first ballot of the 2027 election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) are confronting a reality that goes beyond ballot papers, voting technology and election-day logistics. Nigeria’s next election will also be a contest for public trust. That was the central message that ran through a Strategic Workshop for Editors organised by the NGE in collaboration with INEC in Abuja this week. Bringing together electoral officials, editors and experts, the workshop was more about the difficult relationship between elections and information in an increasingly fragmented media environment. Nigeria is approaching another major electoral cycle at a moment when citizens consume information through an extraordinary mix of traditional newsrooms, social media platforms, messaging applications, citizen-generated content and increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence tools. In such an environment, a rumour can travel faster than a verified fact, while a manipulated video can acquire the appearance of truth before an official institution has time to respond. For INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, that makes public confidence perhaps the most important asset in the electoral process. “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 told the editors. Amupitan was explicit that the relationship he envisages is not one in which journalists surrender their watchdog role. “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 said. That distinction matters. A credible electoral process requires an independent media capable of questioning INEC just as much as it requires an electoral commission willing to answer those questions. Beyond the information challenge, INEC used the workshop to outline its operational preparations for 2027. The Commission said it had successfully completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its revised timetable and was advancing towards the ninth. The timetable, issued on February 26, 2026, has been translated into an operational plan involving INEC’s 23 headquarters directorates, 36 state offices, the Federal Capital Territory and all 774 local government offices. Perhaps the most immediate milestone for voters is the commencement of nationwide collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards on October 9. According to INEC, the three phases of Continuous Voter Registration conducted between August 2025 and July 2026 produced more than 10.6 million new applicants, subject to biometric verification. The Commission said its final Automated Biometric Identification System cleanup had been completed and that the National Register of Voters now stands at more than 103 million. The PVC collection exercise therefore represents an important point at which electoral participation moves from registration to practical readiness. INEC appealed to editors to use their platforms to inform citizens about collection locations and encourage registered voters to collect their cards promptly. INEC said it had strengthened the hardware, software and cybersecurity components of its electoral technology architecture. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, or BVAS, has undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration, while 57,000 new BVAS devices have been acquired. Other innovations highlighted at the workshop included online voter registration, downloadable or printable PVC technology and the use of artificial intelligence to detect anomalies in database traffic and strengthen cybersecurity. Yet technology, as the workshop discussions made clear, is not a substitute for trust. A technologically sophisticated election can still be undermined by poor communication, misinformation, inadequate logistics or public suspicion. Conversely, transparent communication can help citizens understand why systems are being deployed, what they are designed to achieve and what their limitations are. INEC’s readiness assessment is therefore extending beyond computer systems. The Commission said it had completed physical audits and staff engagements in the South-west and North-west geopolitical zones, examining facilities, safe-storage arrangements, security protocols and logistics networks, with the remaining zones scheduled for assessment. There is also an internal dimension to credibility. Amupitan stressed that an electoral system can only be as reliable as the people operating it. INEC said all electoral officers and temporary personnel are required to take an oath of neutrality and warned that officials found engaging in partisanship, negligence or compromised conduct would face administrative action. Another threat identified at the workshop was vote-buying. INEC said it was taking an uncompromising position against the buying of votes and was working with institutions including 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 campaign finance and financial inducement. “The integrity of the ballot box is fatally compromised when a citizen’s vote is treated as a commodity for sale,” Amupitan said. Editors as ‘Final Filter’ Amupitan described editors as the “final filter” in an era of information disorder. In his words, the media is the bridge between the electoral institution and the public, with editors carrying the responsibility of translating complicated electoral laws, procedures and operational developments into information ordinary citizens can understand. “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 said. INEC warned that the consequences could extend beyond damage to the Commission’s reputation. “When fake news spreads, it does not merely damage INEC’s reputation; it attacks the democratic fabric of our nation,” Amupitan said. That places a new responsibility on the newsroom. The traditional instinct to be first must increasingly compete with the obligation to be right. In an election, a wrong report about a result, a security incident or a logistical problem can have consequences far beyond an ordinary news cycle. Amupitan described democracy as “a journey, not a destination.” His appeal was for editors, civil society and INEC to build what he called a common front against 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 said. An election does not become credible simply because an electoral management body says it is prepared. Citizens must believe that their votes will count, that the process is transparent and that complaints will be heard. Political parties must have confidence that the rules will be applied fairly, while journalists and civil society organisations must be able to scrutinise the process without being treated as adversaries. That was also the point made by NGE President, Mr. Eze Anaba, who argued that elections are fundamentally about trust. “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 said. For the media, that responsibility is heavy because editors sit between an increasingly noisy information environment and citizens trying to make sense of what is happening around them. They determine which claims receive prominence, which are challenged, which are verified and which are rejected. The NGE president acknowledged the difficulty. The media, he said, cannot effectively perform its watchdog role without credible, timely and accessible information from the electoral management body. “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 said. For the NGE, the objective is similarly broader than improving election-day reporting. Anaba said the Guild wants the engagement to mark the beginning of a stronger and more structured partnership between the electoral commission and the media. “The credibility of the media is itself an essential component of the credibility of the electoral process,” he said. 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 on accurate, ethical and responsible reporting, alongside effective enforcement of electoral laws. He urged editors to combat misinformation, avoid sensationalism and ensure balanced coverage, while stressing the importance of journalists understanding electoral laws and holding political actors and institutions accountable to strengthen public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process. “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 always authenticate their report and never to shy away from asking the tough questions. He emphasised that technological innovation alone cannot guarantee credible elections, stressing the importance of transparency, effective communication, cybersecurity, institutional capacity and sustained public trust in INEC and electoral outcomes. In her contribution, Lobe Hvass, who represented UNICEF, examined how credible election governance shapes the future of Nigerian children, stressing the responsibility of electoral institutions, political actors, media and citizens to promote transparent, peaceful and accountable elections. She highlighted the need to protect democratic values today so that future generations inherit a stable, inclusive and prosperous Nigeria. Also, the Editor-in-Chief, Media Review, Mr. Lanre Idowu, spoke on the need to create a safe electoral environment where voters are able to exercise their franchise without intimidation, while journalists report freely and election officials perform their duties without threats or violence. He also highlighted risk prevention, security coordination, professional conduct and protection of electoral personnel as essential to credible elections. Executive Director, International Press Centre, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, pointed out the growing threat of information disorder to Nigeria’s electoral process, focusing on misinformation and disinformation. He urged to get familiar with practical fact-checking tools, ethical gatekeeping principles and responsible reporting approaches to verify claims. The workshop proposed a more structured relationship between INEC and the media. The Commission called for newsrooms to prioritise digital fact-verification desks and offered direct access to its officials for verification of field incidents, logistics and security reports. It also pledged to work with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security to protect accredited journalists and election responders at polling units and collation centres. The central lesson from the Abuja workshop is therefore that Nigeria cannot build credible elections through technology alone. Trust is built when institutions do what they say they will do, when citizens can verify information, when journalists ask difficult questions and when political actors accept that democracy is bigger than the ambitions of individual candidates. As Nigeria counts down to the 2027 election, the task is consequently not only to prepare polling units, but to also prepare the information environment in which Nigerians will experience the election.