Legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olisa Agbakoba, has stated that media houses are well within their rights to project election outcomes as long as their figures are anchored on verified data from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal.
Agbakoba made the remarks on Wednesday during an appearance on ARISE News, where he discussed INEC’s warning against media organisations independently announcing election results.
On October 6, INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan cautioned media organisations against independently declaring election results, citing provisions of the Electoral Act governing the collation and announcement of results.
Amupitan maintained that the commission is responsible for formally declaring official election results. He also urged media organisations to establish fact-checking desks, adopt digital forensic tools and verify election-related information with INEC before publication.
Responding to the warning, Agbakoba argued that media organisations could report election figures and project likely winners, provided their assessments were based on credible information obtained through the established electoral process.
He stressed that journalists must explain the basis of their projections and clearly identify the sources of the figures used in their reports.
“You cannot say, ‘I’m projecting Agbakoba as a winner’ without attributing. There must be attribution,”
Agbakoba also referred to international broadcasting practices, citing CNN’s projections during United States presidential elections as an example of how media organisations analyse available results to identify likely winners.
He explained that election projections should rely on verifiable figures obtained through the electoral process rather than independent calculations unsupported by credible evidence.
“The key here is that you can’t go on a frolic of your own and say here are the results,”
Agbakoba further highlighted INEC’s result documentation system, which includes Forms EC8A to EC8E and provides records used in the collation of election results.
He maintained that media organisations should rely on these records when analysing election outcomes and projecting winners, while ensuring that their reports accurately reflect the available evidence.
He emphasised that projecting an election winner is distinct from formally declaring the result, which remains the responsibility of INEC.
What You Should Know
This development centers on the ongoing debate regarding whether media houses should independently project election winners before official announcements are made by the electoral umpire.
- Positive Impact: Encourages transparency and data-driven journalism by giving media platforms a clear, verifiable pathway to inform the public using official INEC records.
- Potential Concerns: Lack of strict adherence to proper attribution and credible sources could lead to misinformation, premature celebrations, or heightened political tensions during elections.
