The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is considering a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology systems and a mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
Gatekeepers News reports that the proposed measures are part of efforts to strengthen the reliability of Nigeria’s electoral technology and address concerns raised over its performance during the 2023 elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN).
The conference, themed “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication,” brought together communication scholars, media practitioners, policymakers, electoral officials and other stakeholders to examine the impact of digital disruption on elections and democratic governance.
Amupitan, who was represented by INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Sanni Adam, said the proposed technology audit would cover system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning.
He said the exercise was necessary to enable the Commission to identify and address potential vulnerabilities before they could affect the electoral process.
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the Commission was exploring the possibility of conducting a mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 polls.
According to him, the exercise would provide a full test-run of voter accreditation, results transmission and results viewing under conditions designed to replicate election day as closely as possible.
Amupitan said the proposed measures were a direct response to concerns about the reliability of electoral technology during the 2023 general elections.
He added that INEC intended to approach the 2027 elections with systems that had been thoroughly tested and strengthened.
However, the INEC chairman cautioned that even flawless technical performance on election day would not, on its own, guarantee the integrity of the election.
He noted that electoral threats were increasingly shifting to the broader information ecosystem surrounding elections, particularly with the growing use of digital platforms and emerging technologies.
NOA seeks stronger collaboration against misinformation
Also speaking at the conference, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, called for stronger collaboration among the media, fact-checkers, academia, civil society organisations, security institutions and technology platforms to combat misinformation and other forms of information disorder ahead of the 2027 elections.
Issa-Onilu said the increasing influence of technology on political communication had created opportunities for greater citizen participation but had also accelerated the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.
He urged Nigerians to develop the habit of pausing before forwarding political content and to ask basic questions about its source and credibility.
ACSPN demands electoral information integrity framework
The National President of ACSPN, Prof. Rotimi Williams Olatunji, meanwhile, called for an integrated electoral information integrity framework to tackle AI-driven disinformation and other emerging digital threats ahead of the 2027 elections.
Olatunji said the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, social media, digital platforms, algorithms and data-driven political communication was transforming how citizens accessed information, formed opinions and participated in democratic processes.
He stressed the need for stakeholders to develop coordinated strategies capable of protecting the integrity of electoral information as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 polls.
