The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has charged broadcast stations and broadcast journalists in Anambra State to uphold professionalism and adhere strictly to ethical standards in their broadcasting contents before, during and after the November 8 governorship election in the state and beyond.
Here, the management of over 20 broadcast stations both radio and television in the state, had gathered to refuel their vehicles from the master who had given them license to operate, particularly in an election year for Anambra South Senatorial District bye-election of August 16 and guber poll of November 8 2025.
This one-day sensitization workshop on political broadcasting which had as its theme, “Shaping the Narrative: Ethical Broadcasting for a Credible and Peaceful Election”, sought to address grey areas that may undermine ethical political broadcasting in the age of Artificial Intelligence, hate speech, fake news and misinformation.
Declaring the event open in Awka, the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr Charles Ebuebu emphasized the crucial role of the media in promoting peace, fostering national development and holding leaders accountable; as enshrined in Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Mrs Gloria Makinde, Ebuebu noted that NBC has consistently convened stakeholders meeting like this before every major electoral process whether general or Off-cycle election; because democracy in all it’s complexities relies on broadcasters to mediate truth, inform the public and protect the soul of the nation.
He called on broadcasters to imbibe self-regulation not because of fear of sanctions but commitment to the profession and the nation Nigeria.
Accordibg to Ebuebu, the NBC in line with Nigerian Broadcasting Code and NBC Act expects full compliance from all broadcasters, and thus, will wield the big stick of sanction or fine against any broadcast station that infringes on it’s extant laws.
“Use your editorial judgement, deploy your internal mechanism for compliance, train your teams, invest in fact-checking, develop frameworks to dictate misinformation, AI-generated misinformation and manipulated contents, create spaces for reasoned political discusses on your platforms, and above all, treat your platforms as sacred spaces that must reflect dignity, diversity and decency to our nation.
“Broadcasters are not bystanders in democracy. Your frontline workers, microphone are not mere instruments, they are tools that shape opinions, build peace and foster civic responsibilities.
“As we head into the Anambra Election, let us remember the integrity of the electoral process is not only in the ballot, but also in the broadcast. The public will vote not just based on manifestoes, but based on the narratives you amplified.
“So I challenge you today, will you be gate-keepers of truth or gate crashers of democracy? We at NBC are not just regulators, we are partners in progress. We will continue to engage, educate and support. But we expect your unweavering commitment in return. Let Anambra election be an attestation to Nigerian broadcasting and it’s best, professional, ethical, balanced and bold in defence of the truth,” the NBC DG concluded.
In his remarks, the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, represented by the Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor acknowledged the power of the media to shape public opinion, and assured that the state government would provide a level playing field for all political parties in the election, maintaining that the governor is not desperate to win re-election.
In a paper titled “Navigating Political Broadcast: the Nigerian Broadcasting Code as a Guide,” the Co-ordinating Director, Broadcasting Monitoring NBC, Mrs Sussan Obi identified key goals of the Code in relations to political broadcasting, responsibilities of political parties and candidates as well as role of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.
She urged stations to employ delay mechanism to control live interactions, otherwise the broadcaster will be held liable for any hate speech or inflammation comments made by their guests.
Mrs Obi further charged them to detach themselves from biases.
On her part, the Director, Investigation and Enforcement NBC Hqtrs Abuja, Ms Pauline Elusani, who spoke on “Beyond Headlines: The Broadcaster’s role of fostering Electoral Peace and Stability,” charged broadcasters to be fair, objective, balanced and neutral in discharging their duties as gate-keepers and agenda setters of the society in line with the Electoral Act, ARCON Act and NBC Code.
She described hate speech as speech intended against a person’s tribe, religion, age or sex, which broadcast stations should guard against.
“Keep log books at campaign period and ensure partisan broadcasts are recorded and kept at least 150 days after election; set up an Electoral Complaints Committee to resolve disputes; have control over editorial comments; fact-check news stories against fake news and misinformation, among others.”
Responding, Heads of broadcast stations in the state including the Station Manager of Odenigbo FM, Mrs Frances Ogu represented by Senior Correspondent Ogemdi Ozoemenam, and Program Manager of WAZOBIA FM Onitsha, Mr Moses Okonkwo pledged to ensure that their stations comply strictly with NBC guidelines throughout the election period and beyond.###
