By Adebayo Gbeja
The Kukah Centre has called on the media to use their various platforms to promote electoral peace before, during and after the upcoming general elections.
The Executive Director of The Kukah Centre, Fr. Atta Barkindo, made the call on Friday in Abuja at a dialogue session with media executives.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the session was tagged “Dialogue Session with Media Executives on the Compliance with the National Peace Accord”.
The event was organised by The Kukah Centre in Abuja, in collaboration with the IPC and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), funded by the European Union (EU).
Barkindo said that the National Peace Committee was established ahead of the 2015 general elections, following concerns over personality-based campaigns, ethnic and religious divisions, and inflammatory political statements.
He said that the initiative was subsequently sustained following the intervention of late former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said that the committee however lacked constitutional powers to enforce compliance with the Peace Accord.
He explained that the committee relied on moral persuasion, dialogue and mediation to encourage political actors to comply with their commitments.
He said the committee had consistently received criticisms over perceived inability to enforce the accord, in spite of lacking the legal authority to sanction violators.
According to him, the committee shares information and documented violations of electoral laws with INEC and the police, which have the statutory responsibility to act on such matters.
He described compliance with electoral laws as one of Nigeria’s major challenges, stressing that responsibility for peaceful elections should not be left to the national peace committee alone.
The cleric said that in 2019, the committee introduced two separate peace accords with one requiring political parties and candidates to conduct issue-based campaigns and the another committing them to accept electoral outcomes.
Barkindo therefore urged media organisations to use their platforms to interrogate political candidates, demand explanations and redirect public discourse towards issues affecting Nigerians.
He expressed concern that many voters lacked sufficient access to information and critical engagement needed to hold political leaders accountable.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director, International Press Centre (IPC), Dr Lanre Arogundade, ahead of the 2027 general elections cautioned media organisations against declaring unofficial results.
Arogundade also warned that partisan reporting and premature declaration of winners by media organisations could trigger electoral violence and undermine national stability.
He recalled the 2007 post-election violence in Kenya, where partisan media reports and competing declarations of election victories contributed to tensions that resulted in widespread bloodshed.
According to him, media organisations must avoid becoming instruments of political interests by reporting claims of electoral victories before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announces official results.
He said although civil society organisations could deploy technology to monitor voting patterns, media organisations must exercise caution in reporting projections and claims by political camps.
Arogundade also called on media organisations to strengthen fact-checking, conflict-sensitive reporting and accountability in their coverage of political activities.
He urged media executives to hold political parties accountable for their obligations under the Electoral Act and the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage.
He identified the growing spread of misinformation, particularly AI-generated false information as a major challenge ahead of the 2027 elections.
He also urged media organisations to independently document electoral violations rather than relying solely on findings presented by civil society organisations.
The IPC boss said media organisations should use editorials, opinion pieces, interviews and public discussions to promote issue-based campaigns and draw attention to issues affecting Nigerians.
He further called on the national peace committee, through The Kukah centre, to speak out whenever journalists were harassed or assaulted in the course of their duties.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Senior Programme Manager of The Kukah Centre, Mr Esrom Ajanya, said the dialogue was organised to strengthen collaboration between civil society organisations and media executives ahead of the 2027 elections.
Ajanya said media organisations played a critical role in shaping political narratives, particularly as political parties and candidates intensified campaigns to win public support.
He said the engagement was intended to encourage responsible political communication and ensure that the activities of political actors reflected Nigerians’ expectations and complied with existing legal frameworks.
He urged media executives and civil society organisations to work together towards peaceful campaigns and credible electoral processes.
(NAN)