The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, has warned online publishers that fake news, unverified claims and sensational reporting could permanently damage public confidence in the 2027 elections and worsen voter apathy.
Amupitan gave the warning on Thursday in Lagos while speaking at the 10th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), with the theme, “2027 Elections: Trust, Transparency and Shared Responsibilities.”
He was represented at the conference by the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Ayobami Salami.
The conference brought together online publishers, editors, media professionals, election stakeholders, civil society organisations and academics to examine the role of trust, transparency and shared responsibility in strengthening Nigeria’s democratic process.
Amupitan said the media had a critical responsibility in shaping public perception of elections, warning that inaccurate reports could have consequences long after the news cycle had ended.
He said unverified allegations of electoral fraud could inflict lasting damage on public confidence, even when subsequently corrected.
«“Fake news, unverified leaks, and sensationalised reports directly destroy public trust, incite civil unrest, and induce voter apathy.»
“When an unverified claim regarding electoral fraud is published, the damage to public confidence is immediate and enduring; subsequent retractions or fact checks rarely repair the injury.”
The INEC chairman said the speed of digital information had increasingly outpaced the verification of facts, while elections across the sub region were being exposed to coordinated information warfare, political violence narratives, synthetic media and AI-generated deepfakes.
He urged online publishers to prioritise accuracy over the pressure to break stories ahead of competitors, particularly during the election period.
Amupitan also cautioned against clickbait headlines and unverified reports, urging publishers to provide context when reporting operational challenges rather than presenting isolated incidents as evidence of systemic electoral failure.
He called on media organisations to verify election related claims with INEC and other credible sources, particularly reports concerning polling unit results, electoral irregularities and alleged manipulation.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC was proposing a three point partnership with GOCOP to strengthen election reporting ahead of 2027.
The proposed areas include 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 improve public understanding of the electoral process.
He said the media should promote voter education, including information on the collection of Permanent Voter Cards, rather than contribute to distrust and voter disengagement.
Amupitan said INEC was strengthening its systems ahead of the 2027 elections, including the deployment of artificial intelligence for data auditing and cyber defence in partnership with Google and Microsoft.
He said the commission had introduced automated AI data auditing tools and multi layered firewalls to protect its databases against cyber intrusions, distributed denial of service attacks and unauthorised data injection.
According to him, the measures were designed to ensure that public confidence in the 2027 elections was based on verifiable processes rather than assurances.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the national register had risen to about 103 million registered voters following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
He said nationwide PVC collection was scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Amupitan said the commission had commenced early procurement and distribution of non sensitive electoral materials to its 36 state offices and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the early procurement would allow sufficient time for batching, inventory auditing and distribution to the 774 Local Government Areas ahead of Election Day.
The commission, he added, had procured and begun distributing 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 INEC had also introduced a centralised Operational Activity Schedule to monitor material movement, storage security and vehicle deployment in real time across state command centres.
Amupitan further disclosed 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 before Election Day.
He said comprehensive training programmes were also underway for election personnel, covering electoral administration, technology handling, conflict mitigation and legal compliance.
Responding to questions on result declaration, Lagos REC Prof. Ayobami Salami said the Constitution specifically vests the authority to return election results in the Returning Officer.
Salami clarified that being an INEC official does not automatically confer constitutional authority to return an election result.
He said that even as a Resident Electoral Commissioner, he did not have the constitutional power to announce or return an election result.
According to him, Returning Officers are appointed by the commission and are the officials constitutionally empowered to return the results of the elections assigned to them.
In his opening remarks, the Conference Chairman, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, underscored citizens’ constitutional right to vote and urged INEC to ensure that the 2027 elections are free, fair and credible.
Agbakoba also raised issues expected to feature prominently in political discourse ahead of the elections, particularly the future of fuel subsidy.
He challenged presidential candidates to clearly state their positions on the subsidy regime and explain what they would do differently if elected.
The former President of the Nigerian Bar Association also questioned who has constitutional authority to declare election results, against the backdrop of growing reliance on opinion polls, election projections and unofficial results circulated by traditional and digital media.
He questioned whether opinion polls and other electoral projections should be subjected to the same standards of verification and fact checking applied to other election related information.
