The Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) on Thursday introduced the creation of an Synthetic Intelligence Division geared toward strengthening electoral credibility throughout Nigeria, amongst different capabilities.
This was disclosed in a press release by INEC Nationwide Commissioner and Chairman of the Info and Voter Schooling Committee, Sam Olumekun, on Thursday, twenty second Might 2025.
The Fee harassed that the Division will allow INEC to higher coordinate and maximize current expertise investments by centralized AI governance.
AI Division in INEC
The Fee said that it held its common weekly assembly on Thursday, twenty second Might 2025, throughout which it thought-about the rising relevance of Synthetic Intelligence (AI) to elections and electoral actions in Nigeria and worldwide.
- Olumekun famous that the Fee not too long ago attended a number of conferences with colleagues throughout the continent on the influence of AI on elections.
“These interactions have been motivated not solely by issues over using AI to unfold pretend information or manipulate content material on-line but in addition by the need to make the most of its advantages for data-driven decision-making, threat detection and mitigation, deepening voter companies automation, and geo-spatial intelligence in help of logistic optimization for higher materials distribution and polling unit allocation,” he added.
- Consequently, the Fee permitted the creation of an Synthetic Intelligence Division underneath the ICT Division to proceed harnessing the optimistic points of AI and mitigate its unfavourable influence on elections.
- In accordance with the Fee, “it’s going to additionally improve decision-making by data-driven insights, threat administration, and voter engagement.”
“Moreover, it’s going to strengthen electoral credibility by predictive analytics, automation, and clever safeguards,” he added.
- This initiative, in keeping with the official, locations the Fee on the forefront of institutionalizing AI capabilities inside its ICT infrastructure.
- He highlighted that the event can also be an necessary step in INEC’s ongoing reform of the electoral course of in areas that require solely administrative motion by the Fee.
What You Ought to Know
The event comes almost a 12 months after the African Union (AU) Govt Council permitted the “Continental Synthetic Intelligence (AI) Technique,” which proposed the adoption of AI in the private and non-private sectors amongst member states, together with Nigeria.
- The AU Technique on Synthetic Intelligence was adopted by the AU Govt Council throughout its forty fifth Extraordinary Session held between July 18 and 19, 2024, in Accra, Ghana.
- Nairametrics beforehand reported that over 130 African ministers and specialists just about convened between June 11 and 13, 2024, for the AU’s 2nd Extraordinary Session of the Specialised Technical Committee on Communication and ICT.
- They endorsed a Continental AI Technique to information African nations in harnessing synthetic intelligence to fulfill the continent’s improvement aspirations and the well-being of its individuals.
- As disclosed within the doc, the AU Govt Council backed the adoption of AI in the private and non-private sectors of African nations, amongst different proposals.
The adopted technique referred to as for the institution of applicable AI governance programs and rules on the regional and nationwide ranges.
In 2025, Kashifu Inuwa Abdulahi, Director Normal of NITDA, mentioned that in response to AI-associated dangers, NITDA is prioritizing the event of numerous, high-quality native knowledge units to coach AI fashions which are inclusive, equitable, and free from biases inherited from international knowledge units.
NITDA mentioned it could collaborate with analysis establishments, AI builders, and regulatory our bodies to determine moral pointers for knowledge curation, equity audits, and bias mitigation strategies.
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