The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned media organisations against announcing election results based on privately collated figures during the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, issued the warning on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at a national stakeholders’ meeting organised to mark 100 days to the 2027 general election.
Amupitan urged media organisations to verify election-related information with the commission before publishing or broadcasting results.
He also called on media houses to establish dedicated fact-checking desks and use digital forensic tools to authenticate information, particularly during the election period.
According to the INEC chairman, the media has a critical responsibility to ensure that Nigerians receive accurate and verified information before, during and after the elections.
INEC Warns Against Private Election Results
Amupitan specifically urged media organisations to resist announcing results based on figures independently collated outside the official electoral process.
He said the authority to declare results in national elections rests with INEC under the Electoral Act.
The commission chairman urged journalists and media organisations to prioritise accuracy over speed when reporting election results.
He said media houses should verify information with INEC before publishing or broadcasting it, stressing that being accurate is more important than being the first to announce a result.
The warning comes as political parties, candidates, voters and other stakeholders prepare for the 2027 general elections.
INEC Reveals Plan to Upgrade BVAS, IReV
The commission also provided an update on preparations to prevent a repeat of some of the technological challenges experienced during the 2023 elections.
Amupitan said INEC is upgrading the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) to improve their performance during the 2027 elections.
The chairman disclosed that the commission had acquired an additional 57,000 BVAS devices equipped with inbuilt batteries.
He added that INEC is also replacing many of the existing batteries in a bid to minimise problems associated with the transmission of polling-unit results.
The upgrades are intended to strengthen the technological infrastructure supporting accreditation and result transmission during the elections.
BVAS Failure Will Not Automatically Stop Election
Amupitan also clarified that a technical failure involving BVAS at a polling unit or group of polling units would not automatically bring the entire election to a halt.
According to him, voting and other electoral activities can continue in areas where the system is functioning properly.
He explained that INEC would assess the number of polling units affected by any transmission problem and determine whether the issue could have an impact on the overall election result.
Where the affected polling units do not affect the outcome, collation may proceed while efforts are made to address the technical problem.
However, the INEC chairman stressed that the Electoral Act provides for an election to be postponed in a polling unit where BVAS fails and the problem cannot be resolved.
This means a technical problem at one location does not necessarily invalidate or suspend electoral activities across other unaffected locations.
INEC Seeks Accurate Election Reporting
The latest warning places renewed emphasis on the role of the media in the 2027 electoral process.
INEC wants media organisations to rely on verified information and official declarations rather than privately collated figures that could potentially create confusion or misinformation.
The commission is also encouraging news organisations to strengthen their fact-checking capacity and use digital forensic tools to verify election-related claims.
With the 2027 general elections approaching, the combination of upgraded electoral technology and stricter verification of election information is expected to play an important role in maintaining public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s position is that election results should be reported responsibly and that official declarations should come from the legally authorised electoral body.