By Ayodele Abere
The Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed concern over rising voter apathy and the spread of fake news less than 30 days to the June 20 Ekiti State governorship election, warning that both threaten democratic participation and the credibility of the process.
The concerns were raised on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti during a forum for media executives, producers, reporters, and on-air personalities organized by INEC as part of preparations for the off-cycle election.
Speaking at the event, National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, described declining voter turnout as a democratic crisis requiring urgent action from stakeholders, particularly the media.
Haruna said Nigeria’s voter participation rate had steadily declined since the return to democratic rule in 1999. He noted that while turnout was about 60 percent in the early years, it fell to nearly 30 percent nationally in recent electoral cycles.
He added that Ekiti’s 2022 governorship election recorded about 40 percent turnout, which he said was relatively high for off-cycle elections but still meant more than half of registered voters did not participate.
“Low voter turnout weakens democratic legitimacy and creates a situation where governance may no longer reflect the true mandate of the people,” he said.
Haruna disclosed that 66,664 new voters registered in Ekiti State between 2025 and 2026, raising the state’s total registered voter population to 1,059,360 after transfers and updates.
“No challenge demands more urgent attention from all of us in this room than the crisis of voter apathy,” he said. “For too long, we have accepted a democracy where 70 percent stay away while 30 percent decide the future for everyone. That is the reality we must collectively confront.”
He urged media organizations to establish fact-checking protocols and called on reporters to verify information before broadcasting or publishing.
“INEC is committed to being your most reliable source of electoral information, and we ask for your reciprocal commitment to responsible amplification,” he said.
In his welcome address, Ekiti State Resident Electoral Commissioner Bunmi Omoseyindemi highlighted the dangers of fake news, misinformation, and disinformation, especially on social media. He said manipulated videos, misleading headlines, and false election reports could create panic, undermine public trust, and threaten the peaceful conduct of the election.
Omoseyindemi urged journalists to avoid sensationalism and divisive rhetoric, and to promote issue-based campaigns with balanced coverage of all political parties. He called for closer collaboration with INEC’s communication channels for timely verification of election-related information.
“The media is not just an observer in the electoral process; the media is a strategic partner in safeguarding democracy,” he said.
Chairman of the Ekiti State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kayode Babatuyi, reaffirmed the union’s commitment to combating fake news and strengthening ethical journalism ahead of the election.
He said the union had integrated online publishers into its structure to ensure accountability, noting that most misinformation online often originates from politically motivated social media actors rather than professional journalists.
Babatuyi urged journalists to uphold accuracy, fairness, and verification in their reporting and to support efforts toward peaceful, credible, and transparent elections in Ekiti State.
