Samson Itodo, executive director of Yiaga Africa, says media organisations can report and aggregate election results officially announced at polling units before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declares a winner, provided they do not present the figures as the final outcome.
Gatekeepers News reports that Itodo said polling unit results become public information once they are announced and displayed after voting, making them available for responsible media reporting and independent electoral monitoring.
In a statement on Tuesday, he said the introduction of the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) was designed to enhance transparency by enabling citizens and other stakeholders to monitor the results management process and reduce opportunities for manipulation during collation.
According to him, media organisations can report results announced at polling units without taking over INEC’s constitutional responsibility for declaring election winners.
“It is important to distinguish between announcing results and declaring a winner,” Itodo said.
He explained that although polling unit results are publicly announced and can be reported by the media, the formal declaration of an election winner remains the responsibility of INEC.
“Declaration goes beyond publishing polling unit outcomes; it is the formal legal pronouncement that a candidate has won an election and has been returned as the winner. Until INEC makes that declaration, no candidate can legally be regarded as having won the election,” he said.
Itodo said independent media reporting and the aggregation of publicly announced results could strengthen electoral transparency and help shield the commission from political pressure.
He described the collation stage as a longstanding vulnerability in Nigeria’s electoral process, where political actors could attempt to influence the outcome.
However, he argued that publicly announced polling unit results, when documented and independently aggregated by media organisations and election observers, would make attempts to alter the figures more difficult.
He added that independent monitoring could boost public confidence in the electoral process by providing an additional layer of accountability.
Despite these benefits, Itodo cautioned that results reported before the completion of collation should not be treated as final, as subsequent developments could affect the overall outcome.
He noted that INEC could cancel results where over-voting was established, while figures from polling units where elections were postponed, did not take place or were disrupted by violence and other incidents could also influence the final results.
“This is precisely why all actors, including the media, should avoid declaring winners before INEC completes the collation process and makes its official declaration,” he said.
Itodo further distinguished between reporting results officially announced at polling units, wards, local government areas and state levels and declaring an election winner.
While reporting announced results promotes transparency and public oversight, he said declaring and returning a winner remained INEC’s exclusive constitutional responsibility.
He also warned that publishing false, inaccurate or misleading election results could erode public trust and attract institutional sanctions.
Itodo urged media organisations, civil society groups and election observers to maintain accuracy, professionalism and ethical standards in election reporting.
He said responsible reporting and analysis of officially announced results would strengthen public oversight and democratic accountability while preserving INEC’s authority to declare and return election winners.
