The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has called for far-reaching constitutional and electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 general elections, including a requirement that presidential candidates secure at least 50 per cent of votes cast, with a run-off where no candidate meets the threshold.
The Guild also called for electoral disputes to be resolved within prescribed timelines and, preferably, before the swearing-in of declared winners.
The recommendations were contained in the communiqué issued at the end of the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2026), held in Enugu from 24 September to 26, 2026.
The communiqué was signed by the NGE President, Eze Anaba, and General Secretary, Onuoha Ukeh.
The conference, themed “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” was chaired by the Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, while the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, delivered the keynote address.
Vice President Kashim Shettima participated virtually as Special Guest of Honour, while Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Ndubuisi 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 Guild said the conference examined challenges confronting Nigeria’s electoral democracy, including voter apathy, electoral insecurity, declining public confidence, misinformation, disinformation and emerging threats posed by artificial intelligence ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to the editors, the ballot remained the principal instrument through which citizens exercise their sovereign will, but its value depended on credible information, public confidence and the assurance that votes would be properly counted and respected.
The Guild identified poor governance, electoral violence and intimidation, administrative shortcomings, declining public confidence and concerns about the relationship between electoral outcomes and subsequent judicial decisions as factors contributing to voter apathy.
It also expressed concern over perceptions in some sections of the public that judicial interventions in electoral disputes could displace outcomes recorded at the ballot box.
The editors, however, stressed the importance of judicial independence and called for electoral adjudication that is timely, transparent, predictable and impartial, while ensuring that genuine electoral irregularities are properly addressed.
The Guild therefore called for electoral disputes to be resolved within appropriate timelines and “preferably before the swearing-in of declared winners.”
It also recommended considering a constitutional threshold for presidential elections, with a run-off if the candidate with the highest number of votes fails to secure at least 50 per cent of the votes cast.
The Guild further called for reforms to the process of appointing the Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as State Electoral Commissioners.
It advocated a review of limitations on the ability of ordinary voters to challenge electoral results and called for a constitutional framework that would permit independent candidacy.
The editors identified generative artificial intelligence, deepfakes, voice cloning and automated networks as major emerging threats to the integrity of electoral information.
The Guild warned that synthetic content could be produced and distributed rapidly in the form of fabricated election results, cloned voices of public officials, forged documents, manipulated result sheets and fake reports attributed to established media organisations.
“The greatest danger is not merely the circulation of individual falsehoods but the broader erosion of public trust when citizens become unable to distinguish authentic information from fabricated content,” the communiqué stated.
The Guild urged newsrooms to institutionalise fact-checking and verification systems and integrate digital verification, deepfake detection and forensic tools into their editorial workflows.
It also reaffirmed the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage (Revised 2022), jointly endorsed by the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union and Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
The Guild urged news organisations to adopt the Code and train journalists and other editorial staff on its provisions ahead of the 2027 elections.
The NGE reaffirmed the media’s responsibility 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 the suppression of legitimate achievements.
The Guild called for evidence-based journalism that neither exaggerates failures nor suppresses verified achievements and developments.
It also clarified that editorial neutrality means impartiality among legitimate political contenders and does not require journalists to remain silent in the face of verified wrongdoing or create false equivalence between established facts and unverified claims.
The conference urged governments at all levels to remain transparent and accountable and to cooperate with the media in the legitimate exercise of their watchdog role, including scrutiny of public programmes and expenditure.
It also called on government and political actors to guarantee equitable access to media space for both government and opposition voices while respecting editorial independence.
The Guild declared that election security must include the safety and protection of journalists covering elections.
It warned that the electoral process could not be fully transparent where journalists were threatened, attacked, obstructed or prevented from independently observing and reporting events.
The editors called on security agencies and political actors to protect journalists and ensure that they could perform their constitutional and professional responsibilities without intimidation.
The Guild also urged INEC to sustain nationwide readiness assessments, strengthen technical partnerships for cybersecurity and electoral technology, 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.
The conference also addressed the challenge of reporting terrorism, noting the need to balance the public’s right to know with the risk that irresponsible reporting could amplify terrorist propaganda, aid recruitment, compromise security operations or traumatise victims.
The Guild consequently endorsed the principle: “Inform, Don’t Amplify.”
It urged newsrooms to identify terrorist claims clearly as claims until independently verified and avoid reproducing propaganda, recruitment messages, slogans or graphic material except where there is compelling editorial justification.
The Guild said acts of terrorism should be reported responsibly and accurately without giving undue publicity or “oxygen” to terrorist organisations or inadvertently encouraging further violence.
The conference reaffirmed that the media should remain “pro-Nigeria, pro-Ballot and pro-People”, rather than align itself with any political party.
It stressed that the credibility of Nigeria’s democracy ultimately depends on an electoral process in which citizens can make informed choices, cast their votes freely and have confidence that their votes will be accurately counted and respected.
The conference featured presentations by former Nigerian Bar Association President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN; Professor Auwalu H. Yadudu of Bayero University, Kano; former Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Guardian Newspapers, Mr Martin Oloja; Professor Chinyere Stella Okunna of Paul University, Awka; Professor Farooq A. Kperogi of Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA; and Dr Richard Okoye, Founder/Chief Medical Director of Save a Life Hospital.
The Guild expressed appreciation to the Government and people of Enugu State for their hospitality and support, as well as the speakers, presenters, panellists, sponsors and development partners who contributed to the success of the conference.
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