Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has called on political leaders, electoral institutions and the media to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic system by ensuring elections reflect the choices of citizens and governance serves the wider public interest.
Onaiyekan spoke Thursday at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu, where electoral integrity, journalism and the growing threat of artificial intelligence-powered misinformation featured prominently.
The conference, organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, is being held on September 24 and 25 under the theme, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive.”
Its sub-theme addresses detecting and debunking AI disinformation before, during and after elections.
Democracy Must Deliver Beyond Elections
Onaiyekan argued that Nigeria’s democratic system would remain fragile unless electoral outcomes genuinely reflected the wishes of citizens.
His intervention comes as political parties, INEC, security agencies and civil-society organisations increase preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The discussion extends beyond election-day procedures.
Political accountability, institutional independence, public trust and the quality of information available to voters are becoming increasingly important as political activity accelerates.
AI Raises New Electoral Challenge
Artificial intelligence has introduced another dimension to election misinformation.
Generative tools can produce convincing fake images, audio recordings and videos, making it increasingly difficult for voters to distinguish authentic political communication from manipulated material.
That creates challenges for newsrooms, electoral authorities and political parties.
Journalists will increasingly need verification systems capable of responding quickly when manipulated media spreads during election campaigns.
The issue is particularly important because false information distributed shortly before voting may influence public debate before fact-checkers have enough time to establish what happened.
INEC Also Focuses on Electoral Integrity
INEC is simultaneously strengthening preparations for the elections.
The commission has expressed concern about insecurity and political intolerance and is working with police to identify perpetrators of electoral violence.
For Onaiyekan, however, democratic development also requires institutions and political actors to view elections as mechanisms through which citizens exercise authority rather than simply contests for political power.
The coming months will test whether electoral institutions, lawmakers, political parties and the media can respond to both longstanding election-management problems and emerging threats such as AI-generated misinformation.
