The International Press Centre (IPC) has called on Nigerian journalists to uphold professionalism, accuracy, fairness and balanced reporting in their coverage of the 2027 general elections to promote democratic accountability and strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.
The Executive Director of IPC, Dr Lanre Arogundade, made the call during an engagement with members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), editors and publishers on professional and democratic accountability in journalism ahead of the 2027 elections in Kano.
Arogundade, who was represented by the organisation’s IT and Social Media Officer, Abiodun Adeleke, said the media had a crucial role to play in providing credible, inclusive and public-interest information before, during and after elections.
He urged journalists to move beyond routine coverage of political rallies, campaigns and party activities to focus on issues that directly affect citizens and their expectations of government.
According to him, journalists should scrutinise campaign promises, assess government performance and give adequate attention to critical sectors, including the economy, education, healthcare, security, employment and infrastructure.
He also emphasised the need to ensure that women, youths, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups were adequately represented in electoral discussions.
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The IPC representative warned that sensational reporting, unverified information, hate speech and the spread of misinformation and disinformation could undermine public trust, fuel divisions and threaten democratic institutions.
He therefore urged media organisations to strengthen fact-checking and verification mechanisms, particularly in the face of increasing digital misinformation, manipulated content and inflammatory narratives.
Adeleke further stressed the importance of protecting journalists’ safety, freedom and professional independence, saying media practitioners should be able to discharge their responsibilities without intimidation, harassment or unlawful interference.
In her presentation, Prof. Ruqayyah Yusuf Aliyu of the Department of Information and Media Studies, Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano (BUK), urged journalists to carry out their duties without fear or favour while maintaining accuracy, fairness and professional decency.
Presenting a paper titled, “The 2027 General Election in the Context of Democratic and Accountability Reporting: Scanning the Electoral Environment and Reporting Citizens’ Priority Concerns,” she called on journalists to subject political promises to thorough scrutiny rather than merely reproducing campaign statements, press releases and reports of party defections.
Professor Aliyu said accountability journalism required reporters to examine the feasibility of campaign promises, candidates’ track records and the financial implications of their proposed programmes.
She also urged journalists to monitor the integrity of the electoral process by investigating the preparedness, funding and transparency of electoral institutions.
Furthermore, she identified the deployment of voting technologies, ballot security and the neutrality of election officials as important areas requiring sustained media scrutiny.
On political financing, she encouraged journalists to investigate campaign donations, alleged misuse of public resources for political activities, vote-buying and other financial transactions capable of compromising electoral integrity.
The university don further challenged media practitioners to actively expose misinformation, including deepfakes, artificial intelligence-generated materials and unverified election results capable of misleading voters, heightening political tensions and eroding public confidence.
Journalists should help shape electoral discussions around citizens’ priorities, particularly public service delivery, community security and economic challenges, she said.
Professor Aliyu also advised reporters to familiarise themselves with relevant policy and legal documents to strengthen their capacity to hold political actors and institutions accountable.
Earlier, Adeleke urged participants to contribute their professional experiences, raise critical questions and develop practical recommendations for improving electoral reporting across print, broadcast and online platforms.
He said the success of the engagement would ultimately be reflected in the quality of stories journalists produce, the claims they verify, the voices they amplify and the accountability questions they raise ahead of the elections.
The engagement was organised by the International Press Centre under Component 4 (Support to Media) of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN III) Programme.
The IPC appreciated the NUJ Kano State Council for facilitating the engagement and acknowledged the contributions of the resource persons and the European Union for its financial support.
The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to promoting professional journalism and strengthening democratic accountability in Nigeria.
