2027: Obidient Movement Questions INEC’s AI Plans, Demands Independent Scrutiny
...Warns of Anarchy Over Commission's Conduct
The Obidient Movement has questioned the plans of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the 2027 general elections, calling for independent scrutiny of the proposal.
The Movement expressed concern over what it described as growing evidence of institutional conspiracy, disturbing secrecy, and apparent collusion between INEC and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to a statement issued by its Media and Communications Directorate on Tuesday, the Peter Obi support group criticised the fact that the same INEC that has failed to address what it described as basic issues surrounding electoral transparency, result transmission, and the credibility of its processes is now announcing plans to deploy AI in the 2027 elections.
The group rejected the proposal in its entirety, saying the Commission had failed to explain how the technology would work, what problems it was intended to solve, and what safeguards would prevent its abuse.
The Obidient Movement argued that technology had never been the fundamental problem with Nigeria’s elections, stressing that the real problem was what it described as apparent collusion between INEC and the APC.
“In a recent investigation published by Mundx Analytics, it was revealed that presidential results from more than 50,000 polling units were uploaded from people’s phones. These were people working with INEC to subvert the will of the people and crown a drug baron as president, thereby setting Nigeria back by decades,” it said.
The group asserted that no amount of technological sophistication could deliver credible elections if the institution responsible for conducting them was compromised.
It emphasised that introducing AI into a system that had yet to account for its existing failures was not electoral reform but an attempt to distract Nigerians from what it described as fundamental questions of institutional independence, transparency, and accountability.
According to the group, its concerns were further heightened by the fact that Mr. Lawrence Bayode, whom it described as the INEC ICT Director who masterminded the alleged subversion of the people’s mandate in 2023, was still overseeing the department ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Obidient Movement alleged that the problem in 2023 was not a failure of technology but what it described as collusion involving Bayode, the then INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and the APC.
“Shutting down the server was their strategy in 2023. In 2027, they are planning to put the blame on Al. This evil scheme will not work. INEC’s continued decision to allow Mr. Bayode and his team to oversee critical electoral systems clearly demonstrates its evil agenda for the 2027 elections.”
Consequently, the group outlined its demands to INEC, including the publication of a comprehensive 2027 election plan detailing the technologies, procedures, and safeguards it intends to deploy.
It also demanded an independent audit of INEC’s electoral technology, with the findings and corrective measures made public.
The Movement further urged the electoral body to guarantee transparent and verifiable result transmission, ensuring that every vote cast at the polling unit was accurately reflected in the final result.
It also called on INEC to explain its proposed use of AI and submit the technology to independent testing and public scrutiny.
The group further urged INEC to ensure the independence of its ICT leadership by removing officials whose alleged partisan activities, it said, could compromise public confidence in the electoral process.
It stated that if INEC proceeded with what it described as a plan to rig the 2027 elections, Nigerians would not go to what it described as “Tinubu’s judiciary” to seek the restoration of their mandate.
The group said that, since the Nigerian judiciary had outlived its “usefulness,” the onus was on INEC to ensure that the people’s mandate was respected, warning that failure to do so could throw the country into avoidable chaos.
“The INEC Chairman, Mr. Joash Amupitan, still has enough time to retrace his steps before it is too late,” it said.
The Movement warned that any attempt to “steal the people’s mandate” in 2027 risked provoking widespread public outrage and anarchy.
It further urged INEC not to take the patience of Nigerians for granted or mistake their commitment to democracy for an unwillingness to defend their votes.
The group maintained that the responsibility for preventing an electoral crisis rested squarely on INEC.
“The Commission must act now, before its continued secrecy and failures push the country towards a crisis that could have been avoided. The people’s mandate is not negotiable,” it added.
