The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is partnering with technology giants Google and Microsoft to strengthen its cybersecurity systems and protect Nigeria’s electoral database from attacks ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Thursday while delivering the keynote address at the 10th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers in Lagos, where he outlined measures to improve election security, transparency and public confidence.
Amupitan, who was represented by the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Ayobami Salami, said the commission was deploying artificial intelligence (AI) tools for data auditing alongside advanced cybersecurity infrastructure to guard against attempts to compromise electoral information.
He said the measures were designed to protect INEC’s databases against cyber intrusions, distributed denial-of-service attacks and unauthorised data injection.
Speaking on the theme, “2027 Elections: Trust, Transparency and Shared Responsibilities,” the INEC chairman said the commission was undertaking technological, structural and logistical reforms to strengthen the credibility of the forthcoming elections.
He stressed that public confidence must be built on verifiable processes rather than assurances, adding that the commission was also determined to enforce strict standards of conduct among electoral officials.
According to him, officials found engaging in partisan activities, administrative negligence or other ethical violations will face dismissal and prosecution.
Amupitan said Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026 requires electoral officials to take an oath of loyalty and political neutrality.
“As I told our field officers during our North-West assessment in Kaduna: To the voter in a local ward, INEC is not the Chairman in Abuja; INEC is you,” he said.
He added that any breach of the required standards would attract immediate consequences, warning that electoral personnel must protect the integrity of the process.
Meanwhile, the Peter Obi Media Office has warned Nigerians against surrendering their Permanent Voter Cards or votes in exchange for money and other inducements ahead of the elections.
The office alleged that some politicians were exploiting economic hardship to influence voters, including claims that individuals were being offered money for their PVCs and that some state governors were demanding the cards from citizens, including civil servants, before paying salaries and allowances.
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The allegations could not be independently verified.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the spokesman for the Peter Obi Media Office, Idris Zekeri Jnr., urged Nigerians to reject inducements capable of undermining their voting rights.
“Your PVC is not for sale. Your vote is not for sale. Your future is not for sale,” he said.
The office urged eligible voters to collect and safeguard their PVCs, report suspected electoral manipulation to the appropriate authorities and vote according to their conscience.
Also, the African Democratic Congress has insisted that political parties and citizens have the right to collate and share polling-unit results during the 2027 elections, following INEC’s warning against the circulation of privately compiled results.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said it would document results through its agents, collate the figures and share verified information with the public while recognising INEC’s exclusive responsibility for official declarations.
“The ADC will share our collated results with the public. Our agents will document results, our structures will collate them, and we will communicate verified figures to the public, clearly identifying their source and status,” the party said.
The party argued that INEC’s responsibility to announce official results and declare winners does not remove the right of citizens to collect and share election-related information, provided the figures are clearly identified and their status accurately represented.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the commission’s cybersecurity plans, its warning to electoral officials and growing political debate over voter inducement and result collation are emerging as key issues in the preparations for the polls.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
