The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has described misinformation and disinformation as the greatest threat to the August 15 Osun State Governorship Election, urging the media to prioritize verified and ethical reportage.
He made the call on Saturday in Osogbo during an interactive session with media executives, describing journalists as the “Fourth Estate of the Realm” and critical stakeholders in the democratic process. 
“However, your role as the Fourth Estate is critical to the survival of the process. In this final day window, the greatest threat we face is not technical failure, but the pathology of misinformation and disinformation,” the INEC Chairman said.
“Fake news, manufactured election-day panics, and the unauthorized declaration of parallel results are direct assaults on our public peace and democratic stability.”
He said the Commission has accredited field reporters through its dedicated portal “because we want you to see everything,” and in return demanded “a commitment to verified, ethical, and dispassionate reporting.”
“Verify your facts before you broadcast. When a glitch occurs in a single polling unit, do not report it as a systemic failure across the entire state,” Prof. Amupitan charged.
“Use your channels to educate voters: remind them that No PVC means No Voting, and that vote-buying remains a criminal offense that our partners at the EFCC and ICPC have been mandated to curb.”
Giving an update on readiness, the Chairman said the just-concluded mock accreditation proved the resilience of the BVAS.
“The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) demonstrated optimal field resilience. On average, it took between 30 seconds to 2 minutes to successfully verify a voter using either their fingerprints or facial recognition,” he stated.
“As a result, we have increased the total number of BVAS for the election from 4,427 to 5,130 so as to service split polling units in large PUs in Ife East, Irewole, Egbedore, Ede North, Osogbo. In the process, we increased the number of back-ups from 664 to 1,328 for quick intervention in case of any malfunction.”
Prof. Amupitan also addressed insecurity, saying INEC has moved “from reactive monitoring to proactive prevention” through ICCES. He listed hotspot LGAs to include Atakumosa East and West, Boripe, Ede North and South, Ife Central, Ifedayo, Ila, Osogbo, Ifelodun, and Oriade.
On inclusivity, he reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to vulnerable voters.
“Democracy is incomplete if it excludes vulnerable populations. The Commission has integrated practical assistive devices across polling locations based on our disability mapping in Osun State. We have provisions for braille ballot guides for visually impaired voters; magnifying glasses for voters with albinism and low vision; EC40H poster manifests for hearing-impaired citizens and Priority Voting Queues for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), pregnant women, nursing mothers, and the elderly,” he said.
The Chairman said 32,000 NYSC members have been engaged as ad-hoc staff via the INECPRES portal and that training for Supervisory Presiding Officers has been concluded.
“We do not care who wins the election; we only care how they win. Our sole job is to ensure that the process is clean, that every valid vote counts, and that the declaration reflects nothing but the true sovereign will of the Osun electorate,” Prof. Amupitan concluded.
The session had in attendance National Commissioners, the Osun REC Barrister Oluwatoyin Babalola, NUJ and BON leadership, Bureau Chiefs, Editors and other senior media executives.
