INEC Has Been Talking To Microsoft, Google And IFES About 2027
Abuja · Saturday 12 September 2026
INEC chairman Joash Ojo Amupitan held meetings with Microsoft, Google and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems on the sidelines of a three-day conference running from 9 to 11 September, covering emerging technology, cybersecurity and the use of artificial intelligence in election administration.
He met Microsoft's emerging tech and cyber lead Ethan Chumley and programme manager Ariana Molina, Google's global lead for civic responsibility David J. Lopez in Ottawa, and IFES chief AI adviser Lisa Poggiali.
The chairman's own framing is the interesting part
Amupitan has said that responsible AI begins with institutional readiness rather than technology. That is the correct order, and it is an unusual thing for an official to say while standing next to the technology companies.
What technology can and cannot fix
| Problem | Fixable with better systems? |
|---|---|
| Result manipulation in transit | Yes, if transmission actually works |
| Coordinated disinformation | Partly, and only with fast disclosure |
| Voters blocked from collecting PVCs | No |
| Violence at a polling unit | No |
Two of Nigeria's four biggest electoral problems are not technical.
Cybersecurity partnerships are cheap to announce and hard to audit. A published post-mortem of 2023 would cost nothing and prove more.
What would make this more than a photo opportunity
Three things, all of them boring: a written account of what failed in 2023, a published scope for what these partners will and will not touch, and a mock transmission test with results released whether or not they are flattering. INEC has promised mock tests before. The release of the results is the part that has not happened.
Reporting: PRNigeria, TVC News, Tribune Online and TheNigeriaLawyer.
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