CROSIEC Denounces Fake News, Calls for credible and Accountable Journalism

By, Promise Imoh

The Chairman of the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), Dr. Ekon Boko, has sternly condemned the dessimmination of false and scandalous reports, calling out journalists to verify informations before publication.

The Chairman made this call after a  post falsely allegging that the salaries of CROSIEC staff had not been paid because a rat had eaten the commission’s server went viral.

Reacting to the misleading post, Dr. Boko dismissed it as “baseless and unprofessional,” emphasizing that CROSIEC neither owns a server neither is it responsible for salary payments.

“This commission does not handle salary payments. We receive salaries like every other civil servant in the state. It is the Accountant General’s office that processes payments, and the delay in salaries has already been addressed by His Excellency,” Dr. Boko clarified.

Expressing his disappointment over the false report, the CROSIEC boss criticized the journalist behind it for failing to get clarification before going ahead to make the publication.

“A responsible journalist would have reached out for verification before publishing such nonsense. This is how fake journalism thrives—by spreading lies instead of facts,” he fumed.

Dr. Boko further urged the public to disregard misleading reports and called on media practitioners to uphold ethical standards.

“Journalism is meant to inform, not mislead. If you call yourself a journalist, do your job properly—verify, balance, and report the truth,” he stated.

This is a wake-up call for media practitioners to prioritize professionalism and accuracy over sensationalism as misinformation continues to threaten the credibility of media institutions.