The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, has said Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be used to strengthen electoral institutions and not replace human responsibility in the conduct of elections.
Amupitan stated this on Thursday, September 10, 2026, at the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections in Ottawa, Canada, where he spoke on Nigeria’s experience with the use of technology in election administration.
He was accompanied by the Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dr. Lawrence Bayode.
The INEC Chairman said the increasing use of algorithms and data in democratic processes had made it important for election management bodies to put proper safeguards in place when adopting AI.
He said Nigeria had continued to introduce technology to improve its electoral process, pointing to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Automated Biometrics Identification System (ABIS).
According to him, technology has become necessary given the size of Nigeria’s electoral system, which has more than 93 million registered voters, about 180,000 polling units and approximately 185,000 BVAS devices across the country.
However, Amupitan said the Commission would not adopt AI simply because it is new or sophisticated.
He said the technology must produce clear improvements in election administration and help to build public confidence in the electoral process.
“AI must strengthen electoral integrity, improve public service, and always remain under human control,” he said.
INEC Begins AI Preparations
Amupitan also spoke about the laws guiding the use of technology in Nigeria’s elections.
He cited the Constitution, Electoral Act 2026, INEC Regulations, Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and Cybercrimes Act 2024 as part of the legal framework supporting the Commission’s use of technology.
He said INEC had also started preparing for the responsible use of AI by treating it as an institutional issue rather than just an ICT project.
According to him, the Commission has established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and developed an AI Roadmap for phased adoption.
An AI Governance Framework has also been developed and is currently undergoing internal approval, while the Commission has started training staff on AI and related technical skills.
Amupitan said the work involves several departments, including ICT, Operations, Legal, Voter Education and Risk Management.
“Responsible AI begins with institutional readiness — not technology,” he said.
He listed human oversight, transparency and accountability, data protection and privacy, cybersecurity and risk management, and operational value and public trust as the key principles guiding INEC’s AI plans.
The Chairman stressed that AI would only support election officials and would not take over decisions that should be made by humans.
He also disclosed that INEC had introduced an intelligent Results Management process to help identify discrepancies in election result records.
The initiative, he said, is part of the Commission’s efforts to improve the management of election results while keeping human oversight at the centre of the process.
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