Vice President Kashim Shettima, Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah, Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi and Information Minister Mohammed Idris have urged Nigerian journalists and editors to uphold professional and responsible reporting ahead of the 2027 general elections.
They made the call on Thursday, September 24, at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Enugu, with the theme, “The Ballot, The Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive.” Shettima, who spoke virtually, said the rapid development of artificial intelligence had made the media’s responsibility more demanding, as false information could increasingly be made to appear genuine.
Shettima urged newsrooms to strengthen fact-checking and verification systems to detect and counter AI-generated disinformation before, during and after elections. He said disagreements between government and the media were inevitable but should be based on facts, handled responsibly and conducted in good faith.
Mbah said government and the press had different responsibilities but should ultimately serve the public interest. He urged journalists to independently scrutinise those in power, investigate claims and test evidence, while calling on editors to protect rigorous journalism in an era of AI-generated photographs, cloned voices and fabricated videos.
Idris, represented by NAN Managing Director Ali Mohammed Ali, said credible information would be essential as Nigeria approaches the 2027 elections. He urged editors to make verification a newsroom culture by checking sources, establishing whether images and videos were authentic and ensuring that evidence supported headlines and reports.
NGE President Eze Anaba said editors remained important gatekeepers in shaping public understanding, particularly amid social media, deepfakes and rapid information dissemination. He said credible elections required voters to have access to reliable information and make choices freely. The conference also featured the unveiling of “Truth, Trust and the Future of Nigerian Journalism” and awards to Governor Mbah and Cardinal John Onaiyekan.
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