The growing call by some political actors for media organisations to declare election winners has been faulted and described as an invitation to anarchy.
Speakers at a forum in Abuja which included media executives and representatives of civil society organisations said media houses CSOs and others should participate in collating election results but must not assume the role of announcing winners.
The forum tagged ‘Dialogue session with media executives on compliance with the national peace accord’ was organised by the National Peace Committee (NPC) with support from the European Union (EU) the International Press Centre (IPC) the Kukah Centre among others.
The Executive Director of the IPC Dr Lanre Arogundade argued that it was wrong to ask media organisations to declare election winners while noting the divergence in media allegiance in the country.
Arogundade who warned about the confusion such a practice could cause said ‘If we do that we will have Kenya 2007 in our hands.’
The IPC’s ED who spoke on the topic ‘The media as a partner for electoral peace and accountability’ said the media has the capacity to contribute to efforts to promote national unity peace and cohesion and mitigate violence during the 2027 elections.
He however noted the media will do better in this regard if society assumes responsibility for creating a peaceful atmosphere during this election season.
Arogundade added ‘Crucially too the media needs the support of the rest of the society to get it right during the elections adding that it has now become the responsibility of all to defend journalists’ rights to adequate protection welfare and resources while they perform their responsibilities.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) Dr Akin Akingbulu argued that contrary to what people might be saying ‘my take would be that because elections are counted and documented in the appropriate electoral forms the appropriate institutions get copies of these results.
‘Copies are also passed at polling units. Polling officers agents of parties and other relevant officials get copies. So the results are already in public space. So anybody can tell such results.
‘In my opinion it is constitutionally right for people to collate results especially if they were present in those polling units’ he said.
Akingbulu added that any political party that participated in any election but did not collate results cannot be regarded as a political party.
He said ‘What I did not support which is not lawful is the declaration of results because the Electoral Act 2026 gives that function to the election management body that is INEC. My expectation is that yes whether it is civil society whether it is the observers or other groups as they get the results why not? You can collate.’
He however stressed the need for people to be vigilant and ensure they are up and running in the months left before the next set of elections in the country.
A former National President of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Wahab Odusile noted the key role of the media in sustaining societal peace and urged media owners and journalists to commit to promoting peace during elections.
‘The media too should be held accountable for the need to promote peace. We are called Nigerian journalists because we have a country called Nigeria.
‘We should be committed to peace. We should not use our pen to bring the country out of existence’ he said.
The Executive Director of the Kukah Centre who is also a member of the NPC Reverend Father Attah Barkindo said the event was intended to involve the media in his organisation’s efforts to promote peace during and after electioneering in the country.
Barkindo argued that creating a peaceful atmosphere during electioneering activities is not solely his group’s duty but a collective responsibility shared by everyone including political players and the media.
He blamed relevant state agencies for failing to prosecute politicians who violated peace accords after signing.
He said ‘The peace accord has been annotated to link it with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act but people still violate it.
‘In the past we have collected data on people who have violated the peace accord. We have information and data on violations of the Electoral Act and violations of the Constitution in relation to elections.
‘We handed this data and information to INEC and the police who are paid with taxpayers’ money; they don’t do anything. But people keep coming to the Peace Committee.’