By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has warned online publishers against sensational reporting, saying fake news, unverified claims and exaggerated reports could erode public confidence in elections and worsen voter apathy.
Amupitan gave the warning on Thursday in Lagos at the 10th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), themed, “2027 Elections: Trust, Transparency and Shared Responsibilities.”
The INEC Chairman, who was represented by the Lagos Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Ayobami Salami, said the media had a critical responsibility in shaping public perception of the electoral process.
He said inaccurate reports, particularly unverified allegations of electoral fraud, could cause lasting damage to confidence in elections even when such reports were later corrected.
“Fake news, unverified leaks, and sensationalized reports directly destroy public trust, incite civil unrest, and induce voter apathy,” Amupitan said.
He urged online publishers to prioritize accuracy over the pressure to break stories ahead of competitors, warning against clickbait headlines and the publication of unverified information during elections.
According to him, publishers should provide proper context when reporting operational challenges during elections instead of presenting isolated incidents as evidence of systemic failure.
He also urged media organizations to verify claims with INEC and other credible sources, particularly when reporting polling-unit results, electoral irregularities and allegations of manipulation.
Amupitan said INEC was proposing a three-point partnership with GOCOP, covering dedicated digital fact-verification, stronger editorial self-regulation against publishing unverified election results and altered result sheets, as well as a national voter education partnership.
He described online publishers as “primary storytellers and narrative custodians” of Nigeria’s democracy and urged them to use their platforms to promote voter education, including awareness on the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
The INEC Chairman disclosed that the national register had risen to about 103 million registered voters following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, adding that nationwide PVC collection was scheduled to begin on Thursday.
He said the commission was also strengthening its technological systems ahead of the 2027 elections, including the deployment of artificial intelligence for data auditing and cyber defence in partnership with Google and Microsoft.
Amupitan said the measures were designed to ensure that public confidence in the 2027 elections was based on verifiable processes rather than assurances.
He added that INEC leadership was engaging Resident Electoral Commissioners, Administrative Secretaries, Heads of Department, Electoral Officers and Assistant Electoral Officers to identify operational gaps and implement corrective measures ahead of Election Day.
According to him, comprehensive training programmes were also underway for election personnel, with emphasis on electoral administration, technology handling, conflict mitigation and legal compliance.
The commission, he said, had commenced the procurement and distribution of non-sensitive electoral materials to its 36 state offices and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
He explained that the early procurement would provide sufficient time for batching, inventory auditing and distribution of the materials to the 774 Local Government Areas ahead of the elections.
Amupitan further disclosed that INEC had procured and commenced the distribution of new operational pick-up vehicles to state offices and LGAs to address transportation challenges in difficult terrains, riverine communities and remote border settlements.
He said the commission had also introduced a centralized Operational Activity Schedule to monitor material movement, storage security and vehicle deployment in real time across state command centres.
On the declaration of election results, the Lagos REC, Prof. Salami, clarified that the Constitution specifically vests the authority to return election results on Returning Officers appointed by the commission.
Salami said being an INEC official did not automatically confer the constitutional authority to return an election result, noting that even as a Resident Electoral Commissioner, he did not have the constitutional power to announce or return an election result.
He explained that Returning Officers were the officials constitutionally empowered to return results of elections assigned to them.
In his opening remarks, the Conference Chairman, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, stressed the constitutional right of Nigerians to vote and urged INEC to ensure that the 2027 elections were free, fair and credible.
Agbakoba, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, also challenged presidential candidates to state their positions on the future of fuel subsidy and explain what they would do differently if elected.
He further questioned the constitutional authority to declare election results amid the growing circulation of opinion polls, election projections and unofficial results across traditional and digital media.
The former NBA president also asked whether opinion polls and other electoral projections should be subjected to the same verification and fact-checking standards as other election-related information.
