NDC ACCUSES INEC OF PLOTTING TO RIG 2027 ELECTIONS WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has levelled severe accusations against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), claiming the electoral body intends to manipulate the 2027 general elections using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to benefit the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The opposition party’s reaction follows recent statements by newly appointed INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, who announced plans to integrate AI frameworks to streamline logistics, detect anomalies, and enhance electoral processes ahead of the 2027 polls.

OPPOSITION QUESTIONS TIMING AND SECURITY APPLICATION

In an official statement released via social media, NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, expressed deep mistrust over the commission’s sudden technological push:

• Glaring Contradiction: The NDC questioned how the Federal Government can reliably deploy advanced AI algorithms for national elections when similar automated tools have not been successfully utilized to curb persistent national security challenges.

• Lack of Off-Cycle Testing: The opposition criticized the decision to introduce unvetted tools directly into a general election without first test-running the technology in upcoming off-cycle governorship polls.

• Call for Live Transmission Over AI: The party urged INEC to focus on perfecting existing infrastructure, such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) for real-time result upload, rather than experimenting with complex automated systems.

INEC REASSURES PUBLIC ON VOTE INTEGRITY

Responding to growing public debate, INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan clarified that while the commission is exploring AI for administrative efficiency, human oversight remains absolute.

“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” Amupitan stated, reassuring Nigerians that technology will strictly serve as an instrument for institutional efficiency and administrative transparency, not vote computation.