The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Division and begun integrating AI tools into its election results verification and cybersecurity systems ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at a World Press Conference and National Stakeholders’ Meeting held 100 days before the first ballot.
Amupitan said automated AI auditing tools were being incorporated into the Commission’s results verification process under a five-pillar AI Governance Framework, with human oversight remaining mandatory.
He said INEC was also finalising an AI governance policy to guide the use of the technology.
Beyond results verification, the Commission is deploying AI-driven anomaly detection tools to monitor database traffic and protect its public portals from cyber intrusions and unauthorised alterations.
But Amupitan warned that the growing use of generative AI, voice cloning and deepfake videos could pose a serious threat to the credibility of the electoral process.
“Generative AI, voice cloning and deepfake videos now make it cheap to fabricate the voices of election officials, doctored result sheets and fake letterheads, and to spread them faster than they can be verified,” he said.
He urged media organisations to establish dedicated fact-checking desks and verify election-related information with INEC before publication.
“In national elections, it is far more important to be right than to be first,” he said.
INEC seeks outstanding funds
The INEC chairman also appealed to the Federal Government to release the remaining portion of the Commission’s budget to enable it to complete preparations for the elections.
“We expect the prompt release of the remaining budget to ensure seamless execution of the remaining activities,” Amupitan said.
He acknowledged the government’s timely release of statutory allocations so far, saying the funds had enabled the Commission to meet international vendor obligations, produce critical election technology, upgrade infrastructure and sustain operations across the country.
European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, also called for adequate funding and support for INEC.
“This is a Herculean task,” Mignot said.
The envoy said the EU would maintain a partnership with Nigeria while respecting the country’s sovereignty and would not support any candidate or political party.
He disclosed that the EU would deploy an electoral mission of experts to monitor preparations for the election, the conduct of the polls and the post-election period before issuing recommendations.
INEC to recruit 1.4m ad hoc staff
Amupitan said the Commission would require 707,384 ad hoc personnel for the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, and the same number for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on February 6.
The two phases will require a combined 1,414,768 personnel across 176,846 polling units, compared with about 1.2 million deployed in 2023.
He said most of the personnel would again be drawn from the National Youth Service Corps, recalling that more than 70 per cent of the ad hoc staff deployed in 2023 were corps members and student volunteers.
The INEC Portal for Recruitment of Election Staff opened on September 18 and will close at midnight on November 18.
Voters’ register rises to 103m
The chairman said the National Register of Voters had increased to 103 million following the registration of 10,772,421 new voters during the three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The register will be displayed for public scrutiny from October 9 to 15, while distribution of Permanent Voter Cards from Phase One will begin at Local Government centres on October 9.
Amupitan also disclosed that 18 of the 22 registered political parties had submitted candidates for the presidential election.
He said INEC received the certified true copy of the Supreme Court judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party on Tuesday morning and was reviewing its implications.
Stakeholders demand credible polls
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, said the committee had written to INEC to enforce the Supreme Court judgment concerning Section 74 of the Electoral Act.
Senate Committee on Electoral Matters Chairman, Simon Lalong, said the credibility of the election was a collective responsibility involving political parties, candidates, security agencies, the media, civil society organisations and voters.
Representing the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Francis Idu, said clearance operations were ongoing in Kogi, Niger, Benue and Taraba states to address crisis points and maintain security ahead of the election.
The National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, commended INEC over the Osun State governorship election but urged electoral officials to remain neutral and avoid taking sides with political parties or candidates.
Dantalle also called for greater engagement between INEC and political parties before the elections.
“This election will come and go, but Nigeria will remain,” he said.
