By joshua 2026 NUJ Press Week: Hon. Umar Yahaya ‘Connect’ Charges Journalists To Be Guardians of Democracy, Warns Against Ai-driven Misinformation
The lawmaker representing Omala State Constituency in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Umar Yahaya, has charged Nigerian journalists to uphold professional and ethical standards as the nation heads toward the 2027 general elections, describing journalists as “not just reporters of democracy, but guardians of democracy.”
Hon. Yahaya gave the charge on Tuesday while delivering his address as Chairman of the Occasion at the 2026 Press Week of the Kogi State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lokoja.
The Press Week is themed: “Professional and Ethical Standards in Election Reporting: The Journalist as a Guardian of Democracy.”
According to the lawmaker, the theme is not academic but urgent, given the current information ecosystem where a headline can set a community on fire and Artificial Intelligence can manufacture a video of a candidate that never existed.
“In such a season, the question is: Who guards the gate? The answer is you – the journalist,” he said.
Hon. Yahaya said Section 22 of the Constitution which empowers the media to hold government accountable is not a licence for sensationalism but a call to duty.
He outlined three pillars for ethical election reporting: urged journalists not to break the nation in a rush to break the news, calling for rigorous verification to avoid being conduits for fake results, ethnic profiling and unverified claims of violence.
He called for fairness to all political parties, candidates and regions to deny oxygen to those who label the media as an extension of a political party.
He warned that “brown envelope must not become brown verdict,” stressing that a journalist’s integrity is more valuable than any inducement on election eve.
Reaffirming his commitment to press freedom, Hon. Yahaya cited his legislative record in the Kogi State House of Assembly, including sponsoring the landmark Bill for Free Maternal and Neonatal Healthcare Services for Pregnant Women and Newborns in state-owned facilities, which has now been passed into law.
He said the people of Omala fondly call him “Connect” because his representation connects people to government.
He listed his interventions to include free JAMB forms for over 400 students annually, N1 million Excellence Grants to top UTME scorers, a N6 million education support fund for 101 students in October 2026 with 5,000 textbooks and learning materials, 27 tertiary scholarships, 30 laptops, classroom renovations, the ongoing Ogodu Cottage Hospital, motorized boreholes in all 11 wards, the Abejukolo Township Road, solar lights, construction of a police station at Ibado-Akpacha with operational motorcycles, and empowerment of over 400 families with farming tools and cash.
“These are modest efforts. I am not the best yet. But they were only possible because you, the media, amplified the needs of our people and held us accountable,” he said.
The Omala lawmaker called on government at all levels not to fear the press but to fund and protect the press, noting that a free press strengthens governance.