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.

This also came as the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and other stakeholders called for stronger collaboration to combat misinformation and disinformation.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, disclosed this in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the ongoing 13th Annual International Conference of ACSPN.

The conference, themed “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication,” is bringing together communication scholars, media practitioners, policymakers, electoral authorities and other stakeholders to examine the changing digital environment and its implications for elections and democratic governance.
Amupitan, who was represented by National Commissioner, Prof. Sanni Adam, said the proposed measures were part of efforts to address concerns over the performance of electoral technology during the 2023 general elections.

He said the proposed technology audit would cover system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning, stressing that the Commission needed to identify and address vulnerabilities before they were exposed during an election.

The INEC chairman also disclosed that the Commission was exploring the possibility of conducting a mock presidential election ahead of 2027 to provide a full test-run of voter accreditation, results transmission and results viewing under conditions designed to mirror election day as closely as possible.

He said: “It is why, as we look toward 2027, the Commission is not simply reinstalling the same systems and hoping for a smoother outcome. We are pursuing a more rigorous path: a comprehensive audit of our electoral technology systems, covering system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning, so that we understand our vulnerabilities before an election exposes them rather than after.

“We are also exploring the conduct of a mock presidential election ahead of 2027, a full test-run of accreditation, transmission and results viewing under conditions that mirror election day as closely as possible.”

Amupitan said the measures were a direct response to concerns raised about the reliability of electoral technology during the 2023 elections, adding that INEC intended to approach the 2027 election with systems that had been thoroughly tested.

He, however, cautioned that even flawless technical performance on election day would not, by itself, protect the integrity of the election, noting that threats had increasingly shifted to the information ecosystem surrounding elections.

According to him, the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) was a deliberate attempt to close the credibility gap that had trailed Nigerian elections.

Amupitan raised concerns over the growing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to produce convincing fake videos, audio and images capable of misleading voters.

He cited the possibility of fabricated videos showing election officials announcing results that were never declared, cloned voices attributed to political candidates and manipulated images of ballot papers.

According to him, the speed and scale at which such content could spread through platforms such as WhatsApp and TikTok made AI-generated disinformation particularly dangerous to electoral credibility.

He also identified algorithmic microtargeting as another emerging challenge, noting that digital platforms could allow political actors and anonymous groups to send different messages to narrowly defined segments of the electorate based on location, ethnicity, religion and online behaviour.

Amupitan said such developments could gradually undermine the shared factual foundation necessary for healthy democratic debate.

He said INEC would therefore need to operate as a continuously present and trusted voice across digital platforms, rather than relying solely on occasional official statements.

Amupitan stressed the importance of transparency, saying public understanding of the Commission’s resources and processes would make it more difficult for false narratives to gain traction.

He said electoral technology and communication should be treated as a single discipline, arguing that the security of INEC’s systems and the credibility of its public messaging were interconnected.

He also called for an “always-on” digital monitoring and rapid-response mechanism capable of identifying, verifying and countering viral falsehoods about the electoral process within the same news cycle.

Amupitan advocated “pre-emptive transparency”, whereby INEC would proactively explain possible points of vulnerability, realistic timelines and safeguards around the electoral process rather than waiting for rumours to emerge before responding.

He also urged stronger collaboration among INEC, communication scholars, universities, professional media bodies, fact-checking organisations and technology platforms.

The INEC chairman specifically invited ACSPN to deepen collaboration with the Commission on media literacy research, rapid detection of synthetic content and training programmes for journalists and civic educators.

He also urged Nigerians to develop stronger media and information literacy skills, including the habit of verifying claims through official channels before sharing them.

He said the electorate that would participate in the 2027 election would be younger and more dependent on smartphones and social media for information than previous generations, warning that social media had become a major arena where electoral credibility would be contested.

Also, 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 tackle misinformation and other forms of information disorder ahead of the 2027 elections.

Issa-Onilu said the growing influence of technology on political communication had created opportunities for greater citizen participation but had also heightened the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

He urged Nigerians to develop the habit of pausing before forwarding political content and asking basic questions about its origin and credibility.

“We must invest seriously in media and digital literacy. This starts with forming a citizen who pauses before forwarding a political message and asks: Who created this? What is the source? Can it be verified?” he said.

Also, the National President of ACSPN, Prof. Rotimi Williams Olatunji, 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 development of AI, social media, digital platforms, algorithms and data-driven political communication was transforming how citizens received information, formed opinions and participated in democratic processes.

He warned that the same technologies could expose democracy to sophisticated forms of manipulation, particularly through AI-generated audio, video and images capable of impersonating political candidates, electoral officials and institutions.

He called for stronger verification mechanisms, rapid fact-checking, responsible political advertising, institutional communication, AI-content detection, media literacy and trusted channels through which citizens could authenticate electoral information.