By Faith Chondol
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.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday while delivering the keynote address at the 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN).
Amupitan, who was represented by an INEC National Commissioner, Prof. Sanni Adam, said the proposed measures were designed to address concerns surrounding the performance and reliability of electoral technology during the 2023 general elections.
According to him, the proposed technology audit would cover system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning to enable the Commission to identify and address possible vulnerabilities before the 2027 elections.
He also disclosed that INEC was exploring the possibility of conducting a mock presidential election before 2027 to provide a full test-run of key electoral technologies and procedures.
He said the exercise would test voter accreditation, results transmission and results viewing under conditions designed to closely replicate an actual election day.
Amupitan said the Commission intended to ensure that its electoral systems were thoroughly tested and strengthened before the 2027 general elections.
However, he cautioned that even flawless technical performance on election day would not, on its own, guarantee the integrity of the electoral process.
He said threats to elections had increasingly shifted toward the information ecosystem, particularly with the growing use of social media, artificial intelligence and other digital platforms to influence public opinion.
The development came as the National Orientation Agency (NOA), ACSPN and other stakeholders called for stronger collaboration to combat misinformation, disinformation and hate speech ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Director-General of NOA, Lanre Issa-Onilu, urged the media, fact-checkers, academics, civil society organisations, security agencies and technology platforms to work together to tackle information disorder.
Issa-Onilu said technology had created opportunities for greater citizen participation in political processes but had also accelerated the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.
He urged Nigerians to develop the habit of verifying political information before sharing it, particularly by checking its source and credibility.
Similarly, the National President of ACSPN, Prof. Rotimi Williams Olatunji, called for an integrated electoral information integrity framework to address AI-driven disinformation and other emerging digital threats.
Olatunji said the rapid development of artificial intelligence, social media, digital platforms, algorithms and data-driven political communication was transforming how Nigerians received information, formed opinions and participated in democratic processes.
The stakeholders spoke at the conference themed, “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication.”
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