GUIDELINES FOR MEDIA ACCREDITATION FOR THE 2026 EKITI STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION


  1. INTRODUCTION

    As part of the Commission's Policy to ensure the safety of all personnel on Election Day including Media personnel, Journalists from Media Organisations are duly accredited to cover the conduct of elections.

    In light of the above, the Commission has approved the following guidelines for Journalists and Media Organisations intending to cover the 2026 Ekiti State Governorship Election.

  2. APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION

    Media Organisations interested in deploying journalists to cover the 2026 Ekiti State Governorship Election shall apply online to the Commission via https://imap.inecnigeria.org. Each media organisation shall attach and upload a duly signed letter of introduction on the organisation's letterhead, containing the list of all staff it wishes to deploy, onto the accreditation portal.

    The portal opened on Wednesday, 8th April 2026 and will close on Sunday, 7th June 2026.

  3. LIAISON PERSONNEL

    For purposes of smooth accreditation, Media Organisations are required to assign a liaison officer/contact person to coordinate the accreditation of their nominees. The liaison officer will be required to fill the forms online on behalf of the Media Organisations staff (as the case may be) for processing of the applications.

  4. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR ACCREDITATION

    1. The contact person of the Media Organisation is required to upload the passport photographs and work I.D. of every staff that will be involved in the coverage of the election.

    2. The contact person is also required to upload a duly signed cover letter from his/her Organisation containing the list, names, and duties of officers his/her Organisation intends to deploy (e.g. Reporter, Camera Operator, Translator, Driver, etc).

    3. Online Media Organisations may be required to provide their website addresses with evidence of recent posts (i.e regular posts in the last 30 days preceding the date of the application).

    4. Print Media Organisation's may be required to scan and upload at least three recent editions of their publications.

  5. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS

    All documents shall be submitted in soft copies through the dedicated online portal as provided above. No hard copy submission will be accepted.

  6. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

    Submission of all applications and documents for accreditation for the 2026 Ekiti State Governorship Election will end at 12 Midnight on Sunday, 7th June, 2026.

    NB: No late submission shall be entertained as the portal will automatically shut down at the expiration of the submission period.

  7. COLLECTION OF TAGS

    Media Organisation's whose applications are successful will collect media accreditation tags at:

    Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat,

    Beside Customary Court of Appeal, Old Governor's Office, Ado Ekiti,
    Ekiti State.

    The Commission may change the venue and location for the issuance of the tags if the need arises.

    Dates for Collection of Kits:

    Collection of media accreditation tags shall commence from Monday, 15th to Thursday, 18th June, 2026 between the hours of 9:00 am – 4:00 pm daily at the designated venue.

  8. ACCESS TO COLLATION CENTRES

    While access to polling units is open to all accredited Journalists covering the election, INEC will allow only one accredited representative per radio station, two per television station (reporter and cameraman), and two per newspaper (reporter and cameraman) to the collation centre due to limited space and safety concerns.

  9. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ACCREDITED JOURNALISTS

    All accredited Journalists and allied staff have the right to cover ALL election procedures within their respective jurisdictions for which they have been accredited. Journalists accredited to cover the election are expected to strictly abide by all laws and INEC Regulations and Guidelines and all Rules and Codes from relevant Regulatory Bodies as well as the ethics of the Journalism profession.

  10. JOURNALISTS ARE TO:

    1. Display their identification tags issued by the Commission at all times on Polling Day.
    2. Be at the Polling Unit from the opening of polls on Election Day to cover all stages of the polling process from voter accreditation, through the voting period, to the counting of ballot papers and pasting of results provided they do not interfere with polling processes or compromise the voters statutory right to secrecy of his/her vote.
    3. Move around the Polling Units as long as their movements do not obstruct the voting process or the work of poll officials, interview voters, observers, or other persons within the polling environment without interfering with the polling process.
    4. Cover the deployment of sensitive materials and the retrieval of used and unused sensitive materials after the polling processes.

  11. JOURNALISTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO:

    1. Film or take photographs of any individual within the polling zone without his/her consent.
    2. Film or photograph any voter marking a ballot paper.
    3. Photograph, acquire pictures, film footage, or audio commentary that reveals personal details of the voter.
    4. Film, photograph, or copy the Register of Voters, Voter Cards, or any other document(s) as would infringe on the privacy of any voter.
    5. Handle any polling material.

  12. LINE OF AUTHORITY/OBEDIENCE TO LAWFUL DIRECTIONS

    Accredited Journalists, like everyone else in the polling environment, shall be subject to the directives and control of the Presiding Officer.

    INEC reserves the right to withdraw or revoke at any time the accreditation of any Journalist who defies the directives of any Presiding Officer or authorised INEC Official or who violates the provisions of any law, regulation, code, or professional codes of Journalism practice.

NOTE:

  1. INEC reserves the right to withhold accreditation for any Organisation or Journalist whose professional identity could not be verified.
  2. There shall be no manual accreditation.
  3. Only accredited media representatives will be allowed free movement or access to Polling Units, Collation Centres, or any INEC office facility.
  4. Accreditation tags will stand as a pass for the Ekiti State Governorship Election scheduled to hold on Saturday, 20th June, 2026.
  5. Applications once filled and submitted cannot be reversed.

ACCREDITATION PROCESS STEPS

Step 1: Register Organisation

(For fresh applicants only. Returning applicants should log in with their existing email and password and proceed to Step 2.)

  1. Confirm Email verification
  2. Login to complete profile information

Step 2: Application Management

  1. Select the election being applied for
  2. Upload application letter containing staff name
  3. Fill column for the number of proposed staff
  4. Select the location of coverage

Step 3: Personnel Management

(Returning Organisations can skip this step except if they are adding new personnel who have not had their particulars uploaded for previous elections.)

  1. Add personnel information
  2. Upload personnel work ID
  3. Upload personnel passport photograph

Step 4: Personnel Nomination

(Note: only approved applications can proceed to this step.)

Nominate field and collation staff (if applicable).

Step 5: Submit

Click the Finish nomination button. (This is very important.)

However, if there are any issues encountered with the portal during the accreditation process, please find the contacts of the technical support staff below:

07088844564 or 08032861058

Signed:

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

INEC: Making your vote count… Consolidating our Democracy