Ahead of the 2027 general election, five civil society organizations have launched the Nigeria Election Data Observatory (NEDO) Consortium Artificial Intelligence platform to monitor real-time result uploads on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
The organisations are Dataphyte Foundation, Yiaga Africa, BudgIT Foundation, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and DEAN Initiative.

Speaking on behalf of the consortium during a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, the Country Director of Dataphyte Foundation, Oluseyi Olufemi stated that the platform was aimed at strengthening independent election observation, data sharing and electoral transparency .
He explained that the platform features automated data-scraping technology designed to retrieve election results published by INEC in real time, using artificial intelligence-powered Optical Character Recognition, the system converts images of result sheets uploaded to the IReV portal into machine-readable data for analysis and publication.

He said the initiative was designed to address fragmentation in election observation, civic data management and information sharing among organisations working to protect electoral integrity.
According to Olufemi, Dataphyte Foundation, which serves as the consortium’s secretariat, had developed a shared data aggregation and information-sharing platform that allows participating organisations to exchange electoral information through Application Programming Interfaces and other data-sharing systems.
He said that they are combining the organisations’ networks, resources and expertise to improve election monitoring and provide Nigerians with credible, independently verifiable electoral information.

Olufemi said the information will be used on interactive election-result platforms operated by consortium members, including Dataphyte Foundation and BudgIT Foundation, while relevant data will be made available to the public.
He explained that the platform will enable partners to contribute, access and reuse verified election data across their respective platforms and public communication channels
He added that the 2023 general elections exposed the limitations of separate observation networks and data management systems, particularly following challenges with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

Olufemi said the experience highlighted the need for civil society organisations to pool resources and independently verify electoral information.
The initiative comes amid concerns about public confidence in the electoral process, with 34 per cent of respondents in Yiaga Africa’s September 2026 National Voting Intentions Survey expressing confidence in INEC’s ability to conduct credible elections.
The consortium also expressed concern over the growing threats posed by artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes, manipulated content and misinformation, which could make it more difficult for citizens to distinguish credible election information from false claims.

The consortium said its network of election observers, including Yiaga Africa’s Watching the Vote network, would provide real-time information on electoral incidents, voting processes, result collation and election outcomes.
The information will support verification and reporting by media organisations coordinated by CJID and provide an independent evidence base for comparison with results published on IReV.
The consortium will also conduct pre-election surveys and situation assessments led by DEAN Initiative to examine electoral preparedness, citizens’ perceptions, emerging risks and other factors that could affect the 2027 elections.
The findings will inform a National Election Readiness Report, regional briefs and periodic situation reports.

The organisations also announced the launch of the NEDO application, a civic technology tool designed to support election observation and information management.
Field observers from the five organisations and other participating partners will use the application to document developments throughout the electoral process, including election administration, incidents, collation and results.
The Programme Manager at Dataphyte Foundation, Abdulahi Adebayo, said the application would feed information into a shared evidence repository accessible to consortium members for analysis, reporting, visualisation, advocacy and public communication.

According to the consortium, the shared system will help participating organisations cross-check reports, verify competing claims, identify discrepancies and address misinformation and allegations of electoral irregularities.
It said the coordinated approach would strengthen civil society’s ability to detect attempts to manipulate or misrepresent electoral information and provide citizens with evidence they could independently assess.
The consortium plans to deploy more than 4,000 observers through its member organisations’ networks during the 2027 general elections to monitor polling units and different levels of result collation.
Its activities will cover the entire electoral cycle, beginning with assessments of electoral conditions, citizens’ preparedness and public confidence before the polls.

During the elections, information gathered by observers will be verified through the shared platform and used for public communication alongside results obtained from INEC.
After the elections, the consortium will analyse its evidence alongside official results, publish a post-election report and make relevant data available for research, advocacy and electoral reform.
The organisations said the initiative would strengthen independent scrutiny of the electoral process and improve public access to credible and verifiable information before, during and after the 2027 general elections.