…Calls for INEC appointment reforms, independent candidacy
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called for far-reaching constitutional and electoral reforms, including a 50 per cent threshold for presidential elections and the resolution of electoral disputes before the swearing-in of declared winners.
The Guild also called for reforms to the appointment processes for the Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as State Electoral Commissioners.
The resolutions were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2026), held in Enugu from September 24 to 26, 2026.
The communiqué was signed by the NGE President, Eze Anaba, and General Secretary, Onuoha Ukeh.
The conference, themed, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” was chaired by the Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, while the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, delivered the keynote address.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima participated virtually as Special Guest of Honour, while Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, was the Chief Host.
More than 500 editors, publishers and senior media practitioners from print, broadcast and digital platforms, as well as political, traditional, religious, academic, regulatory and development-sector leaders, attended the conference.
The Guild said the conference examined challenges confronting Nigeria’s electoral democracy, particularly the threats posed by artificial intelligence, misinformation, disinformation, electoral insecurity and declining public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to the communiqué, the ballot remained the principal instrument through which citizens exercised their sovereign will, but its value depended on credible information, public confidence in the electoral process and the assurance that votes would be properly counted and respected.
The editors identified voter apathy as being influenced by factors including poor governance, electoral violence and intimidation, administrative shortcomings, declining public confidence and concerns over the relationship between electoral outcomes and subsequent judicial decisions.
The Guild expressed concern over perceptions in some sections of the public that judicial interventions in electoral disputes could displace outcomes recorded at the ballot box.
It, however, stressed the need to respect judicial independence while calling for electoral adjudication that is timely, transparent, predictable and impartial, with genuine electoral irregularities appropriately addressed.
The editors called for electoral disputes to be resolved within appropriate timelines, preferably before the swearing-in of declared winners.
They also recommended consideration of a constitutional threshold requiring a presidential candidate to secure up to 50 per cent of votes cast, with a run-off where no candidate meets the threshold.
The Guild further called for a review of restrictions on ordinary voters seeking to challenge electoral results and advocated a constitutional framework that would permit independent candidacy.
AI, misinformation
The conference identified generative artificial intelligence, deepfakes, voice cloning and automated networks as major emerging threats to the integrity of electoral information.
It warned that synthetic content could be rapidly produced and distributed in the form of fabricated election results, cloned voices of public officials, forged documents, manipulated result sheets and fake reports attributed to established media organisations.
The editors said the danger extended beyond individual falsehoods to the erosion of public trust when citizens could no longer distinguish authentic information from fabricated content.
The Guild consequently urged newsrooms to institutionalise fact-checking and verification systems and integrate digital verification, deepfake detection and forensic tools into their editorial workflows.
It also reaffirmed the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage (Revised 2022), jointly endorsed by the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union and Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
The NGE urged media organisations to adopt the Code and train journalists and other editorial staff on its provisions ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Guild reaffirmed the responsibility of the media to provide accurate, verified and independent information and scrutinise governments, political parties and other centres of power.
It, however, stressed that media scrutiny should not amount to suppressing legitimate achievements.
The editors called for evidence-based journalism that neither exaggerates failures nor suppresses verified achievements and developments.
The Guild also clarified that editorial neutrality meant impartiality among legitimate political contenders and did not require journalists to remain silent in the face of verified wrongdoing or create false equivalence between established facts and unverified claims.
Election security, journalists
The conference urged governments at all levels to remain transparent and accountable and cooperate with the media in the legitimate exercise of its watchdog role, including scrutiny of public programmes and expenditure.
It also called on government and political actors to guarantee equitable access to media space for government and opposition voices while respecting editorial independence.
The Guild declared that election security must include the safety and protection of journalists covering elections.
It warned that the electoral process could not be fully transparent where journalists were threatened, attacked, obstructed or prevented from independently observing and reporting events.
The NGE therefore called on security agencies and political actors to protect journalists and ensure they could perform their constitutional and professional responsibilities without intimidation.
The editors also urged INEC to sustain nationwide readiness assessments, strengthen technical partnerships for cybersecurity and electoral technology, ensure the technical integrity of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and protect the institutional independence of the electoral commission.
They stressed that all technology deployed in elections must remain subject to human oversight, transparency, accountability and legal verification.
‘Inform, Don’t Amplify’
The conference also addressed the challenge of reporting terrorism, acknowledging the balance between the public’s right to know about terrorist attacks and the risk that irresponsible reporting could inadvertently amplify terrorist propaganda, aid recruitment, compromise security operations or traumatise victims.
It consequently endorsed the principle: “Inform, Don’t Amplify.”
The Guild urged newsrooms to identify terrorist claims clearly as claims until independently verified and avoid reproducing propaganda, recruitment messages, slogans or graphic material except where there was compelling editorial justification.
It resolved that acts of terrorism should be reported responsibly and accurately without giving undue publicity or oxygen to terrorist organisations or inadvertently encouraging further acts of violence.
The conference reaffirmed that the media should remain “pro-Nigeria, pro-Ballot and pro-People”, rather than align itself with any political party.
It stressed that the credibility of Nigeria’s democracy ultimately depended on an electoral process in which citizens could make informed choices, cast their votes freely and have confidence that their votes would be accurately counted and respected.
Among the major papers presented at the conference were those by former Nigerian Bar Association President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN; Professor Auwalu H. Yadudu of Bayero University, Kano; former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian Newspapers, Martin Oloja; Professor Chinyere Stella Okunna of Paul University, Awka; Professor Farooq A. Kperogi of Kennesaw State University, Georgia, United States; and Dr Richard Okoye, Founder/Chief Medical Director of Save a Life Hospital.
The Guild expressed appreciation to the Government and people of Enugu State for their hospitality and support, as well as speakers, presenters, panellists, sponsors and development partners whose contributions enriched the conference..
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