The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology infrastructure ahead of the 2027 General Election and is considering the possibility of conducting a mock presidential election to test the reliability of its systems before the polls.
The National Commissioner of INEC, Prof. Sani Muhammad Adam, SAN, disclosed this while delivering a keynote address on behalf of the Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, 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, professionals and stakeholders to examine the changing dynamics of electoral communication in the digital age.
Adam said the Commission had commenced comprehensive preparations for the 2027 election, including a full audit of its electoral technology infrastructure, system redundancy assessments, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning.
He said INEC was also considering a mock presidential election to stress-test its systems ahead of the actual polls.
“We are looking at conducting a mock presidential election to stress-test our systems before Nigerians go to the polls,” Adam said.
According to him, the measures were informed by lessons from the 2023 General Election, which demonstrated both the benefits and limitations of technology in the electoral process.
He said innovations such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) significantly enhanced transparency during the 2023 elections.
However, Adam stressed that technological innovation must be matched with reliability and effective communication to build public confidence.
“Technology alone cannot guarantee public trust unless it performs reliably and is backed by timely, honest and effective communication,” he said.
He disclosed that INEC was developing a rapid-response digital communication strategy that would enable the Commission to detect, verify and counter misinformation in real time.
“We are developing a rapid-response digital communication strategy capable of detecting, verifying and countering misinformation in real time,” Adam said.
The National Commissioner said the initiative had become necessary because of the increasing sophistication of digital misinformation and the emergence of artificial intelligence tools capable of producing convincing but fabricated content.
He added that INEC would strengthen partnerships with communication scholars, universities, media organisations, fact-checkers, technology companies and civil society groups to build what he described as a resilient electoral information environment.
“We need to work together with communication scholars, universities, the media, fact-checkers, technology companies and civil society organisations to build a resilient electoral information environment,” he said.
Also speaking, the National President of ACSPN, Prof. Rotimi Williams Olatunji, called for an integrated electoral information integrity framework involving all major stakeholders in the electoral process.
Olatunji said the responsibility of protecting electoral information should not rest solely on INEC, stressing that political parties, media organisations, technology platforms, civil society and academia all had important roles to play.
“Protecting electoral integrity requires an integrated approach involving INEC, political parties, media organisations, technology platforms, civil society and academia,” he said.
He called for stronger fact-checking mechanisms and the deployment of tools capable of identifying AI-generated content, particularly during election campaigns.
Olatunji also advocated responsible political communication and improved media literacy among citizens, saying Nigerians needed the capacity to identify false and manipulated information before sharing it.
“We must strengthen fact-checking, invest in AI-content detection and promote responsible political communication and media literacy among citizens,” he said.
Also delivering a keynote address, the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, warned that AI-generated misinformation and manipulated digital content could pose a serious threat to public confidence in the 2027 elections.
Issa-Onilu said the growing accessibility of artificial intelligence had made it easier to create and circulate fabricated videos, images, audio recordings and other forms of misleading content.
“AI-generated misinformation and manipulated digital content can significantly undermine public confidence in our elections if left unchecked,” he warned.
The NOA Director-General urged stakeholders to promote responsible digital citizenship and intensify public awareness campaigns ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Nigerians must be empowered to distinguish facts from fabricated information,” Issa-Onilu said.
He stressed that citizens had a responsibility to verify information before consuming or sharing it, particularly during periods of heightened political activity.
“Responsible digital citizenship must become part of our collective response to the growing threat of misinformation,” he said.
The speakers agreed that safeguarding the credibility of the 2027 General Election would require more than the deployment of new technologies, stressing the importance of public trust, transparent communication, fact-checking, media literacy and collaboration among electoral stakeholders.
They also emphasised the need for election management institutions and other stakeholders to anticipate emerging digital threats and develop effective mechanisms to respond to misinformation before it gains widespread traction.
The conference further highlighted the growing influence of artificial intelligence and digital platforms on political communication, with stakeholders calling for stronger safeguards to ensure that emerging technologies are used to strengthen, rather than undermine, Nigeria’s democratic process.