By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
The Arewa Cohesion for Peace, Unity and Development Initiative, ACI, has announced plans to hold a one-day workshop to strengthen the capacity of 30 journalists to report elections fairly, accurately, objectively and in a conflict-sensitive manner ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Director-General of ACI, Dr. Abdullahi Idris, disclosed this in a press statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna, said the workshop themed “Fair, Objective and Conflict-Sensitive Election Reporting: Strengthening Journalism for Credible Nigerian Elections” is scheduled to hold on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at the ACI Secretariat.
Dr. Idris explained that the programme is designed to deepen journalists’ understanding of their professional, legal and ethical responsibilities in election coverage.
“The media occupies a critical position in Nigeria’s democratic process, particularly during elections, when citizens depend on journalists for accurate information about candidates, political parties, electoral procedures, election-day developments and results,” he said.
The ACI Director-General noted that the increasing spread of misinformation, disinformation, political propaganda, inflammatory content and manipulated digital materials makes it necessary for journalists to continually strengthen their professional capacity to verify information and report sensitive political developments responsibly.
He explained that the workshop would provide participants with practical knowledge on distinguishing facts from allegations, opinions and propaganda, while strengthening their ability to verify election-related claims, photographs, videos, statistics and social media content.
Dr. Idris added that the programme would also address the responsible reporting of political violence, hate speech and other sensitive incidents, stressing that careless or inflammatory reporting could contribute to tensions at a time when accurate and responsible journalism is most needed.
He further stated that the workshop will examine the legal framework governing elections and the responsibilities of journalists, as well as professional standards for reporting election campaigns, election-day activities, results, electoral disputes and related developments.
Other areas of focus, according to him, will include fact-checking and digital verification, social media verification, responsible use of artificial intelligence, conflict-sensitive reporting, hate speech, political manipulation, misinformation and disinformation, as well as the safety, independence and credibility of journalists and their sources.
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