By Sochima Agbo

ENUGU - As campaign preparations slowly gain momentum towards the 2027 general elections, the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, is once again urging media organisations to transcend the partisan mode of reporting of electoral activities towards more accountable and closely monitored journalism, urging them to exercise greater scrupulousness in scrutinising governance and public service systems.

The call was reiterated at two-day (4th to 5th November, 2026) media interface with Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and editors/publishers on Democratic Scorecard, (Enugu State Edition), held at BON Hotel Platinum, Independence Layout, Enugu, Enugu State.

The engagement was part of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) programme that aimed at enhancing the capacity of journalists in the area of curbing corruption, credible electoral reporting and informed citizen participation in politics.

One of the highlights was a presentation by Professor Ifeoma Dunu, Director of UNIZIK 94.1 FM, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka who challenged the journalists to place citizens' interest in their election concerns, instead of politicians'.

Duru emphasized that media coverage often report political rallies, promises and party differences, while important matters concerning the citizens receive little attention. She called on journalists to challenge election promises, scrutinize budgets, track implementation of projects, and evaluate officials' performance in office.

She singled out a number of areas that needed to be dominant on the media’s agenda for the election as insecurity, unemployment, education, healthcare, electricity, transportation and access to public services. She also spoke about the importance of tracking the electoral, legal, political, institutional, economic, social inclusion, public service, security and information environment of elections in order to ensure all-encompassing coverage of elections.

The second lecture delivered by Mr. Olusola Oludiran on fact checking and the utilisation of digital tools in journalism, was another highlight of the occasion. He discussed the increasing problem of misinformation and information that is manipulated or created by AI and the need for verification and responsible sharing of information to protect the integrity of public trust.

The workshop also discussed the importance of the Democratic Scorecard as a tool to measuring democratic performance and enhancing accountability. It turned up the heat on journalists' role in providing scrutiny of the obligations of public institutions, and its examination of public resources and budgets, the problems of government promises and delivery, and tracking government measures with measurable outcomes.

Through community engagement and armed with a regular investigation of public concerns and a constant watch on government responses, the participants were encouraged to apply citizens' priorities to an editorial priority.

In addition to the presentations, the workshop offered an ideal moment for media practitioners to consider how they can contribute to the discourse around the elections and use it to build democratic institutions. Finally, it is expected that the participating media companies will transform their learning into more robust reporting, verification efforts and ongoing public interest reporting.

Given the upcoming 2027 elections, the IPC initiative highlights the need for media to report on a competition between different political parties, rather than just filling space, and to cultivate citizens' leverage on providing reliable information to evaluate candidates, challenge public officials, and demand responsible governments.

AnchorNews Media was among the media groups that participated in the two-day event.