Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Osun, Yiaga Africa has trained journalists and other election stakeholders on the management, verification and transmission of election results, warning that misinformation and poor understanding of the collation process could fuel post-election disputes and violence.
The training, held on Wednesday at Adolak Event Hall, Osogbo, under the organisation’s Election Academy for Journalists, focused on polling-unit results management, electronic transmission, provisions of the Electoral Act 2026, citizens’ oversight mechanisms and the responsibility of the media in ensuring credible and peaceful elections.
Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the training became necessary because of the highly competitive nature of the August 15 election and the tense political environment surrounding the contest.
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Itodo noted that the violence recorded in the build-up to the election had made responsible journalism and accurate dissemination of electoral information particularly important.
“I think what is clear is that this is a competitive election. It’s competitive for a lot of reasons,” he said.
He further cited data from the Kukah Centre’s Election Security Information Hub, which, according to him, indicated that more than 34 people had died in incidents linked to the build-up to the election.
Against this backdrop, Itodo urged journalists to develop a clear understanding of the journey of election results from the polling unit to the various stages of collation and eventual declaration.
He said this was especially important given recent technological and procedural changes introduced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the Electoral Act 2026.
“INEC is using electronic EC8As, and then also when you look at issues about the role of the IREV and how results have been manipulated in the past, it was necessary to take journalists through the processes, the journey of results, so they can improve on their reportage,” he said.
The Yiaga Africa director warned that inaccurate reports, premature declaration of winners or misunderstanding of the legal requirements for victory could create unnecessary tension among supporters of competing political parties.
He explained that understanding the constitutional requirements for winning a governorship election was crucial, particularly the requirement to secure the highest number of votes and the prescribed geographical spread.
“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,” Itodo said.
He said Yiaga Africa organised the Election Academy in collaboration with the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) and the International Press Centre (IPC) to strengthen journalists’ capacity to report the election accurately, improve public understanding of the electoral process and build confidence in the outcome.
Participants were also introduced to the Election Results Analysis Dashboard (ERAD), an independent election intelligence platform designed to monitor, analyse and visualise polling-unit results uploaded to INEC’s IREV portal.
The training further examined the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) mechanism, which seeks to detect and deter electoral irregularities while providing citizens with an additional means of assessing the credibility of election results.
The organisers advised journalists, election observers and citizens to pay particular attention to the relationship between the physical EC8A result sheet at each polling unit and its electronic version uploaded to IREV.
They stressed that figures contained in the physical result sheet should correspond with the electronic copy transmitted through the electoral system.
Under its #OsunDecides2026 campaign, Yiaga Africa also urged voters to take practical steps to protect their votes throughout the voting and results process.
Itodo advised voters to ensure that the BVAS device records zero accredited voters before voting begins and to insist that only duly accredited voters are allowed to cast ballots.
He also urged voters and accredited observers to carefully verify the figures announced at polling units, ensure that the presiding officer properly captures and uploads the EC8A result to IREV, and confirm that Form EC60E is displayed at the polling unit.
According to him, strict compliance with accreditation procedures remains essential to preventing over-voting, which could have serious implications for the validity of results from affected polling units.
Itodo said the credibility of the election would not depend solely on the voting process but also on how results were recorded, transmitted, collated, reported and understood by the public.
He therefore charged journalists to avoid speculation, sensational reporting and the publication of unverified results, saying responsible coverage could help prevent misinformation from escalating into political tension.
He maintained that a better-informed electorate, well-trained journalists and transparent results management would strengthen public confidence in the August 15 election and contribute to a peaceful electoral process in Osun.