The acting National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, has called on journalists and media organisations accredited for the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election to carry out their duties with professionalism and responsibility.
Agbamuche-Mbu made the call on Wednesday during the third quarterly consultative meeting with media executives held in Abuja.
She reminded media stakeholders that the Commission’s Media Accreditation Portal for the election, which opened on September 1, 2025, will close on October 24, 2025, with no extension.
“As of October 15, the Commission has received about 43 applications from media organisations seeking accreditation for 363 personnel,” she said. “The portal remains open until midnight on October 24, and I must stress that there shall be no extension of this deadline.”
She explained that the accreditation tags issued by INEC are part of the Commission’s security and transparency measures, equipped with a scannable security code to verify the holder’s credentials.
“To those who will be accredited, we urge you to carry out your essential work with utmost professionalism and a sense of responsibility,” she said. “You have a critical role to play as a bulwark against fake and misleading information throughout this electoral cycle.”
In his remarks, the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Alhassan Yahaya, commended INEC for its continued reforms aimed at improving electoral processes through technology and transparency.
He emphasized that effective communication between INEC and the media is essential to fostering public trust. “It is through our reports, analyses, and engagements that citizens develop trust and understanding of the system,” Yahaya noted.
He also called for deeper collaboration between the Commission and journalists ahead of future elections, including enhanced capacity building, stronger fact-checking mechanisms, and improved access to timely information from INEC.