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The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called for far-reaching constitutional and electoral reforms, including a 50 per cent threshold for presidential elections and the resolution of electoral disputes before the swearing-in of declared winners.
The call was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2026), held in Enugu from September 24 to 26, and signed by NGE President, Eze Anaba, and General Secretary, Onuoha Ukeh, and made available to Daily Sun.
The Guild also called for reforms to the appointment of the Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as State Electoral Commissioners.
The conference, themed, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” was chaired by the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, while the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, delivered the keynote address.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima participated virtually as Special Guest of Honour, while Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, served as Chief Host.
More than 500 editors, publishers and senior media practitioners from print, broadcast and digital platforms attended the conference alongside political, traditional, religious, academic, regulatory and development-sector leaders.
The NGE said the conference examined major threats to Nigeria’s electoral democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections, including artificial intelligence, misinformation, disinformation, electoral insecurity and declining public confidence.
The editors noted that while the ballot remained the principal means through which citizens exercised their sovereign will, its value depended on credible information, confidence in the electoral process and the assurance that votes would be properly counted and respected.
The Guild identified poor governance, electoral violence and intimidation, administrative shortcomings and declining public confidence as some of the factors contributing to voter apathy.
It also expressed concern over perceptions that judicial interventions in some electoral disputes could displace outcomes recorded at the ballot box.
The editors, however, stressed that judicial independence must be respected, while electoral disputes should be handled through a process that is timely, transparent, predictable and impartial.
The Guild therefore called for electoral disputes to be resolved within appropriate timelines, preferably before the swearing-in of declared winners.
It also recommended an appropriate constitutional threshold for presidential elections, with a run-off where the candidate with the highest number of votes fails to secure up to 50 per cent of the votes cast.
On electoral appointments, the NGE called for a review of the process for appointing INEC’s Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners, as well as State Electoral Commissioners.
The Guild further called for a review of restrictions placed on ordinary voters seeking to challenge electoral results and advocated a constitutional framework that would permit independent candidacy.
The editors warned that artificial intelligence, deepfakes, voice cloning and automated networks posed serious threats to the integrity of electoral information.
According to the Guild, fabricated election results, cloned voices of public officials, forged documents, manipulated result sheets and fake reports attributed to established media organisations could now be produced and circulated rapidly.
It said the danger went beyond individual falsehoods to the wider erosion of public trust when citizens could no longer distinguish authentic information from fabricated content.
The NGE therefore urged newsrooms to institutionalise fact-checking and verification systems and incorporate digital verification, deepfake detection and forensic tools into their editorial processes.
It also urged media organisations to adopt the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage (Revised 2022) and train journalists and editorial staff on its provisions ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Guild reaffirmed the responsibility of the media to provide accurate, verified and independent information while scrutinising governments, political parties and other centres of power.
It, however, stressed that media scrutiny should not amount to suppressing legitimate achievements, calling for evidence-based journalism that neither exaggerates failures nor hides verified achievements.
The editors also clarified that editorial neutrality meant impartiality among legitimate political contenders and did not require journalists to remain silent in the face of verified wrongdoing or create false equivalence between established facts and unverified claims.
The conference further called on governments at all levels to remain transparent and accountable and cooperate with the media in the legitimate exercise of its watchdog role.
It urged government and political actors to guarantee equitable access to media space for both government and opposition voices while respecting editorial independence.
On election security, the NGE warned that the electoral process could not be fully transparent where journalists were threatened, attacked, obstructed or prevented from independently observing and reporting events.
It called on security agencies and political actors to protect journalists and ensure they could perform their constitutional and professional duties without intimidation.
The Guild also urged INEC to sustain nationwide readiness assessments, strengthen cybersecurity and electoral technology partnerships, ensure the technical integrity of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and protect the institutional independence of the electoral commission.
It stressed that all technology deployed in elections must remain subject to human oversight, transparency, accountability and legal verification.
On terrorism reporting, the editors endorsed the principle, “Inform, Don’t Amplify,” warning against reporting practices that could inadvertently promote terrorist propaganda, aid recruitment, compromise security operations or traumatise victims.
The Guild urged newsrooms to identify terrorist claims as claims until independently verified and avoid reproducing propaganda, recruitment messages, slogans or graphic material except where there was compelling editorial justification.
The conference reaffirmed that the media should remain “pro-Nigeria, pro-Ballot and pro-People”, rather than align itself with any political party.
It said the credibility of Nigeria’s democracy ultimately depended on an electoral process where citizens could make informed choices, vote freely and have confidence that their votes would be accurately counted and respected.
The Guild expressed appreciation to the Enugu State Government and people for their hospitality and support, as well as speakers, presenters, panellists, sponsors and development partners whose contributions enriched the conference.
