The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has enjoined Nigerian journalists to be factual and accurate in reporting the election and electoral activities in compliance with journalism ethics.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a quarterly meeting with media executives in Abuja on Wednesday, also told them to be a bulwark against fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
Prof. Yakubu who stated that the media are partners in election management, urged journalists to always comply with the Nigerian media code of election coverage, as well as the INEC guidelines for media accreditation.
He reminded them that accreditation for media organisations wishing to cover the Edo State election is still open, and will close on September 5.
The INEC Chairman disclosed that only details of 227 media personnel have been uploaded on the commission’s portal for media accreditation, and urged interested media organisations to expedite action by ensuring that they submit their applications before the deadline.
“This will enable the commission to produce and deliver the accreditation tags for your reporters, camera operators, technical and other support staff in good time for the election,” he stated.
He assured that INEC will work with the security agencies to ensure that accredited journalists are granted unimpeded access to all voting and collation locations.
National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Chris Isiguzo, said the media collaboration with INEC is essential in achieving accurate and objective reporting of electoral activities.
He however appealed to the security agencies to extend the necessary support and partnership with the media in order to check incessant harassment and intimidation of journalists on election duties.
Isiguzo who welcomed the Supreme Court judgement on financial autonomy for local government councils, argued that for “this autonomy to be truly conclusive and impactful, there is a need for constitutional amendments by the National Assembly” to empower INEC to conduct elections into local government councils across the country.
He stated that extending INEC’s power to conduct local government elections “will ensure uniformity, credibility, and efficiency in the electoral process.”
He therefore called for the creation of an Independent Local Government Electoral Commission, stating that “establishing a separate body for local government elections could lead to redundancy, increased bureaucracy, and potential conflicts of interest.
“Instead, leveraging INEC’s established framework, experience, and resources would be a more efficient and effective approach to managing local government elections.”