Ahead of the forthcoming general elections, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Ojo Amupitan, has said strong institutions and effective governance must guide the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Amupitan made the call while addressing delegates at the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections in Ottawa, Canada.
The INEC chairman, who attended the conference with the Commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, said technological advancement alone could not guarantee credible elections.
He said election management bodies must establish clear rules and safeguards to ensure that emerging technologies improve electoral processes without compromising democratic values or public confidence.
According to him, the growing role of algorithms and data in democratic processes makes it necessary for electoral institutions to maintain firm human control over the technology they deploy.
Amupitan said Nigeria had continued to adopt technology to improve the conduct of elections, reduce human error and strengthen the credibility of the electoral process.
He cited the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Automated Biometrics Identification System (ABIS) as examples of technologies already supporting election management in the country.
He also highlighted the scale of Nigeria’s electoral operations, noting that the country has more than 93 million registered voters, about 180,000 polling units and approximately 185,000 BVAS devices deployed across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He, however, cautioned against adopting AI simply because it was available, saying the Commission would only embrace technology that could demonstrate clear benefits to electoral administration and public confidence.
Amupitan said INEC’s use of technology operates within Nigeria’s existing legal framework, including the Constitution, Electoral Act 2026, INEC regulations, Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and Cybercrimes Act 2024.
He also referred to provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 covering voter registration, electronic voting technology, biometric verification and the electronic transmission and use of election results during collation.
The chairman said INEC had begun putting institutional structures in place ahead of any wider deployment of AI in its operations.
He disclosed that the Commission had established an Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and was developing a phased AI roadmap to guide its adoption of the technology.
The Commission is also working on an AI Governance Framework, which is currently undergoing internal approval.
Amupitan said INEC had started training its personnel and improving their understanding of AI while involving departments responsible for election operations, legal services, voter education and risk management in the process.
He identified five key principles that would guide the Commission’s AI strategy: human oversight; transparency and accountability; data protection and privacy; cybersecurity and risk management; and operational usefulness and public trust.
He stressed that AI would not replace election officials or make final decisions on behalf of the Commission.
Amupitan also gave insight into how INEC could use AI to support the management of election results.
He said the Commission had developed an intelligent Results Management process capable of detecting possible discrepancies in election records.
Under the system, digitised polling unit result forms, known as Form EC8A, are scanned and their figures extracted. The system then compares the figures with information recorded on BVAS devices and flags inconsistencies for election officials to examine.
The technology, he explained, would only assist officials in identifying discrepancies and would not alter the original results.
The chairman said effective AI deployment required more than acquiring software, noting that INEC would also need trained personnel, reliable datasets, quality records, secure digital platforms and cooperation between different departments.
He said the Commission would measure the success of its AI initiatives by examining factors such as reductions in processing errors, operational reliability, staff acceptance, cybersecurity performance, public confidence and the ability to scale successful systems across the country.
He added that projects that failed to deliver the expected results would be reviewed and improved before INEC considered expanding their use.
Beyond internal election operations, Amupitan said INEC was also examining ways AI could make electoral services more accessible to citizens.
Possible applications, he said, include intelligent voter information services, automated responses to routine enquiries, assistance with voter registration and faster access to electoral information.
He said INEC’s long-term objective was to build an election management system that could take advantage of useful technology while maintaining strong institutional controls, protecting data, strengthening cybersecurity and preserving public trust.
Amupitan said the Commission would continue to deploy technology only when it offered demonstrable value and complied with existing legal and ethical requirements.
