INEC chairman says he has handed 2027 election over to God

• Amupitan says he has handed everything over to God as he prepares for the 2027 elections.

• He insists that artificial intelligence will not determine election results.

• INEC says AI could support election logistics and help identify inconsistencies in result sheets.

• The chairman says the commission has completed 10 of 14 major activities on its election timetable.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, has said he has handed everything over to God as he prepares to conduct Nigeria’s 2027 general election.

Amupitan made the remark on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, while speaking at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, organised by Yiaga Africa.

The forum, themed “Safeguarding the 2027 General Election in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” brought together stakeholders to discuss the opportunities and risks artificial intelligence presents to Nigeria’s electoral process.

Speaking about the enormous responsibility of overseeing the elections, the INEC chairman said his faith had become a source of encouragement as he prepared for the task ahead.

“I’m being reminded of the enormity of the task on me. I’m also encouraged by the word of God, which is, ‘Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ So that has been my anchor,” he said.

He added, “And sometimes people say, ‘You are not bothered.’ I said, I’ve handed over everything to God.”

Despite expressing his reliance on God, Amupitan also outlined INEC’s preparations for the 2027 polls, assuring Nigerians that artificial intelligence would not determine the outcome of the election.

“No, algorithms will not and must never decide the 2027 votes. Algorithms will not decide the vote because the choice of who leads Nigeria belongs exclusively to the Nigerian people,” he said.

The chairman explained that while AI could influence political communication, the information available to voters and the logistics of conducting elections, the technology must support democratic processes rather than undermine them.

He said AI could help INEC plan the movement of election materials and personnel by analysing traffic patterns, weather forecasts, road conditions and security information. It could also help identify mathematical inconsistencies and unusual patterns in uploaded polling-unit result sheets.

However, Amupitan stressed that human collation remained the statutory standard for declaring election results, with AI serving as an additional tool for identifying potential discrepancies.

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He also acknowledged the challenges facing the commission, including insecurity, difficult terrain and poor network coverage in some communities.

According to him, INEC had completed 10 of the 14 major activities on its election timetable and had begun receiving additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices ahead of the polls.

Amupitan further disclosed that the commission had digitised its candidate nomination process through the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal, which had processed more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties.

He said the commission would continue working with civil society organisations, technology companies, regulatory bodies and security agencies to ensure that technological developments strengthened Nigeria’s electoral process.