The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed its readiness to harness the positive aspect of artificial intelligence (AI) in election management in the country.

The commission thus announced the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Division under the ICT Department to continue to harness the positive aspects of the technology and mitigate its negative impact on elections.

The announcement is contained in a statement yesterday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of the Commission, Sam Olumekun.

The statement reads: “The commission held its regular weekly meeting today, Thursday, May 22, 2025. Among other issues, the meeting considered the increasing relevance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to elections and electoral activities in Nigeria and across the world.

“Recently, the commission attended several conferences with colleagues around the continent on the impact of AI on elections.

“These interactions were not only motivated by the concern over the use of AI to spread fake news or manipulate content online, but also to utilise its benefits for data-driven decision-making, risk detection and mitigation, deepening voter services automation and geo-spatial intelligence in support of logistic optimisation for better material distribution and polling unit allocation.

“Consequently, the commission approved the creation of an Artificial Intelligence Division under the ICT Department to continue to harness the positive aspects of AI and mitigate its negative impact on elections.

“The division will enable the commission to better coordinate and maximise existing technology investments through centralised AI governance.

“It will also enhance decision-making through data-driven insights, risk management and voter engagement. Furthermore, it will strengthen electoral credibility through predictive analytics, automation and intelligent safeguards.

“This initiative puts the Commission in the forefront of institutionalising AI capabilities within our ICT infrastructure. It is also an important step in our ongoing reform of the electoral process in areas that only require administrative action by the commission.”