Ebenezer Adurokiya, Reporting
ELECTION observation group Yiaga Africa has warned that misinformation and poor understanding of the results management process could trigger violence during and after Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State.
The group gave the warning while training no fewer than 35 journalists in Osogbo on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) results management process and electronic transmission of results.
The training, held at Adolak Event Centre, was organised by Yiaga Africa in collaboration with the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) and the International Press Centre (IPC).
Speaking after the training, Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said journalists must understand how election results are processed and declared to prevent misinformation that could heighten tension in the state.
Itodo said the warning was particularly important given the competitive nature of the election, the tense political atmosphere and violence recorded during the build-up to the poll.
“I think what is clear is that this is a competitive election. It’s competitive for a lot of reasons. You clearly see in the build-up to this election, there has been a very tense political environment that is signposted with violence,” he said.
According to him, the Kukah Centre Election Security Information Hub had recorded more than 34 deaths in the build-up to the election, while incendiary statements capable of inflaming existing fault lines had also been recorded.
He said the history of disputed election results in Osun made it necessary for journalists to have a proper understanding of the results management process and accurately communicate it to the public.
Itodo said the introduction of electronic EC8A and the role of the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) under the 2026 Electoral Act had further increased the need for journalists to understand the movement and verification of results.
“Since it’s one of the contested aspects of an election, if there’s miscommunication about results, if people don’t know what it takes for a governor to emerge—that you need the highest number of votes, you need 25 per cent in 20 of the 30 local governments, but there are also stages of reports—then it could actually serve as a huge source of violence,” he said.
The Yiaga Africa executive director urged journalists to ensure that information published or broadcast during the election was properly verified, stressing that the media would play a critical role in shaping public understanding of the results.
He added that accurate reporting would also help to strengthen public confidence in the electoral process and reduce the spread of false information.
Participants at the training were taken through INEC’s electronic results management process, including the roles of the IReV portal, Election Results Analysis Dashboard (ERAD), Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) mechanism and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
