The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday announced the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Division aimed at strengthening electoral credibility across Nigeria, among other functions.
This was disclosed in a statement by INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, on Thursday, 22nd May 2025.
The Commission stressed that the Division will enable INEC to better coordinate and maximize existing technology investments through centralized AI governance.
AI Division in INEC
The Commission stated that it held its regular weekly meeting on Thursday, 22nd May 2025, during which it considered the increasing relevance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to elections and electoral activities in Nigeria and worldwide.
- Olumekun noted that the Commission recently attended several conferences with colleagues across the continent on the impact of AI on elections.
“These interactions were motivated not only by concerns over the use of AI to spread fake news or manipulate content online but also by the desire to utilize its benefits for data-driven decision-making, risk detection and mitigation, deepening voter services automation, and geo-spatial intelligence in support of logistic optimization for better material distribution and polling unit allocation,” he added.
- Consequently, the Commission approved the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Division under the ICT Department to continue harnessing the positive aspects of AI and mitigate its negative impact on elections.
- According to the Commission, “it will also enhance decision-making through data-driven insights, risk management, and voter engagement.”
“Furthermore, it will strengthen electoral credibility through predictive analytics, automation, and intelligent safeguards,” he added.
- This initiative, according to the official, places the Commission at the forefront of institutionalizing AI capabilities within its ICT infrastructure.
- He highlighted that the development is also an important step in INEC’s ongoing reform of the electoral process in areas that require only administrative action by the Commission.
What You Should Know
The development comes nearly a year after the African Union (AU) Executive Council approved the “Continental Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy,” which proposed the adoption of AI in the public and private sectors among member states, including Nigeria.
- The AU Strategy on Artificial Intelligence was adopted by the AU Executive Council during its 45th Ordinary Session held between July 18 and 19, 2024, in Accra, Ghana.
- Nairametrics previously reported that over 130 African ministers and experts virtually convened between June 11 and 13, 2024, for the AU’s 2nd Extraordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Communication and ICT.
- They endorsed a Continental AI Strategy to guide African countries in harnessing artificial intelligence to meet the continent’s development aspirations and the well-being of its people.
- As disclosed in the document, the AU Executive Council backed the adoption of AI in the public and private sectors of African countries, among other proposals.
The adopted strategy called for the establishment of appropriate AI governance systems and regulations at the regional and national levels.
In 2025, Kashifu Inuwa Abdulahi, Director General of NITDA, said that in response to AI-associated risks, NITDA is prioritizing the development of diverse, high-quality local data sets to train AI models that are inclusive, equitable, and free from biases inherited from foreign data sets.
NITDA said it would collaborate with research institutions, AI developers, and regulatory bodies to establish ethical guidelines for data curation, fairness audits, and bias mitigation techniques.
