The Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has warned of the negative implications of relying on unverified Artificial Intelligence generated content in the newsrooms.
Although he acknowledged that AI is fast reshaping newsroom contents by assisting media and communications professionals in news production and dissemination, he cautioned that they should guard against sophisticated AI-generated images, audio clips, and other digital content that could fuel misinformation, warning that such a pervasive in the cyber space.
Maida, re-echoed this awareness while speaking at a recent media sensitisation workshop.
The workshop, organized by, The Press Society (TPS), took off with the theme: “Balancing Creativity and Ethics in the Media in the Era of Artificial Intelligence”.
Dr. Maida was represented at the forum by Mr. Babatunde Apeji, Principal Manager, Projects, at NCC, who acknowledged that the workshop was timely and relevant.
The telecoms sector regulatory equally applauded the TPS for bringing together journalists, and other industry stakeholders to deliberate on the modalities for reshaping Nigerian journalism to reflect its true purpose.
The NCC boss also highlighted the strategic importance of telecoms infrastructure to the development of AI, emerging technologies, and digital innovations in Nigeria’s ecosystem.
While acknowledging that AI is rapidly transforming journalism, Maida, Maida, however, urged media professionals to embrace Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies, without compromising accuracy, ethical standards, credibility and public trust.
He particularly cautioned Nigerian journalists against sacrificing accuracy and professional ethics for speed, “clicks” and creativity in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
Identifying some five key principles that should guide journalism in the era of AI, Maida said verification must remain non-negotiable; convincing technology does not necessarily produce truthful content; journalists must rely on authoritative sources and evidence; technology reporting should reflect both its opportunities and risks; and public trust and credibility must remain the media’s greatest assets.
According to him, Nigeria’s digital future required greater collaboration among government, industry, educational institutions, the media and citizens.
On regulation, Maida noted the NCC’s core responsibility is to create an environment that would support innovation while ensuring security, fairness, accountability and public trust.
At the workshop, Dr. Maida disclose recent developments in the telecoms industry in Nigeria, pointing out that West Africa has approximately 179.64 million active telecommunications subscriptions, over 157 million mobile Internet subscriptions and over 121 million Broadband subscriptions as of May 2026.
