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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to detect discrepancies in election result records ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Thursday while addressing the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections in Ottawa, Canada.
Amupitan said the initiative was part of efforts to promote responsible use of technology in electoral administration and strengthen the credibility, efficiency and transparency of the electoral process.
He said the Commission had introduced an intelligent Results Management process to assist election officials in identifying possible discrepancies in election result records.
The chairman, however, stressed that AI would operate under human oversight and would complement, rather than replace, electoral officials and institutions.
“AI must strengthen electoral integrity, improve public service, and always remain under human control,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria’s experience with electoral technology has demonstrated the importance of innovation in reducing human errors and limiting opportunities for manual interference.
He cited the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and Automated Biometrics Identification System (ABIS) among technologies already deployed by the Commission.
Amupitan noted that the scale of Nigeria’s elections made technology increasingly important, with more than 93 million registered voters, about 180,000 polling units and approximately 185,000 BVAS devices deployed across the country.
He said INEC was treating AI adoption as an institutional reform rather than merely an Information and Communication Technology project.
The chairman disclosed that the Commission had established an Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and developed an AI Roadmap for phased adoption.
He added that an AI Governance Framework was undergoing internal approval, while staff training and AI literacy programmes had commenced.
Amupitan said the initiative involved the ICT, Operations, Legal, Voter Education and Risk Management departments to ensure that AI deployment addressed the broader requirements of election administration.
He identified human oversight, transparency and accountability, data protection and privacy, cybersecurity and risk management, as well as operational value and public trust as the five principles guiding INEC’s AI deployment.
The INEC chairman said the Commission would continue to evaluate the benefits and risks of AI before expanding its use to other areas of electoral administration.
He also cited the Constitution, Electoral Act 2026, INEC Regulations, Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and Cybercrimes Act 2024 as part of the legal framework guiding the Commission’s adoption of technology.
Amupitan said AI would not be permitted to make electoral decisions independently, but would provide officials with additional tools to identify errors and strengthen the integrity of the process.
“Responsible AI begins with institutional readiness — not technology,” he said.
The INEC chairman was accompanied to the conference by the Commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode.
