The election observation group, Yiaga Africa, has trained no fewer than 35 journalists ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) results management process and the electronic transmission of results.
The training, aimed at enhancing accurate reportage and strengthening public confidence in the electoral process, was conducted in collaboration with the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) and the International Press Centre (IPC) at Adolak Event Centre, Osogbo, Osun State.
Speaking after the training, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, explained that the programme was organised to improve journalists’ understanding of the electoral results process and to strengthen accurate reporting as the state prepares for a keenly contested poll.
Itodo said the tense political atmosphere and incidents of violence recorded in the build-up to the election made it imperative to equip journalists with the knowledge required to report election results accurately and responsibly.
According to him, ‘I think what is clear is that this is a competitive election. It’s competitive for a lot of reasons. You clearly see in the build-up to this election, there has been a very tense political environment that is signposted with violence.
‘Based on the Kukah Centre Election Security Information Hub, there have been over 34 deaths in the build-up to these elections. We’ve also seen very incendiary statements that are meant to inflame certain fault lines in this election.’
He added that ‘the history of disputed election results in Osun further underscored the need to engage journalists covering the election and take them through the various stages of results management.’
Itodo noted that the 2026 Electoral Act had introduced innovations into the electoral process, including the use of electronic EC8A, making it necessary for journalists to understand how the new system works.
‘INEC has introduced some innovations by virtue of the 2026 Electoral Act. INEC is using electronic EC8A. Then also when you look at issues about the role of the IReV and how results have been manipulated in the past, it was necessary to take journalists through the processes, the journey of results, so they can improve on their reportage,’ he said.
He stressed that journalists would play a critical role in providing the public with accurate information about the management and declaration of election results, particularly because results management remained one of the most contested aspects of elections.
Itodo explained that a proper understanding of the constitutional requirements for winning the governorship election was also important in preventing misinformation and possible violence.
He said, ‘More so because the public will be looking forward to the results management process. Since it’s one of the contested aspects of an election, if there’s miscommunication about results, if people don’t know what it takes for a governor to emerge-that you need the highest number of votes, you need 25 per cent in 20 of the 30 local governments, but there are also stages of reports-then it could actually serve as a huge source of violence.’
During the training, participants were also taken through the implications of electronic results management and the roles of the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, the Election Results Analysis Dashboard (ERAD), the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) mechanism, and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), amongst others.