By Martha Agas
The Nigeria Election Data Observatory (NEDO), a consortium of 5 civil society organisations, says it should deploy greater than 4,000 observers for the 2027 common elections.
Oluseyi Olufemi, Country Director, Dataphyte Foundation, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja on the unveiling of NEDO and its civic know-how utility forward of the elections.
The consortium includes Dataphyte Foundation, YIAGA Africa, BudgIT Foundation, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) and the Development of Educational Action Network (DEAN) Initiative.
Olufemi mentioned the observers would offer real-time data on electoral administration, incidents, voting, collation and outcomes throughout the nation.
He mentioned the knowledge can be collected via the NEDO Civic App, which might allow observers to doc electoral processes for a shared proof repository.
According to him, data from area observers can be consolidated, cross-checked and analysed alongside outcomes revealed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to assist public reporting.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) studies that NEDO is an election statement, knowledge aggregation and information-sharing initiative designed to handle fragmentation in election monitoring, knowledge assortment, analysis and reporting.
Developed by Dataphyte Foundation, which serves as its secretariat, the initiative will present a shared system for amassing, exchanging, analysing, verifying and disseminating electoral data.
Olufemi mentioned the system would use Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and different data-sharing instruments to attach area observations, official election outcomes and impartial media networks.
“By connecting field observations, official election results and independent media networks, NEDO will strengthen the capacity of journalists and civil society organisations to report on electoral developments using credible and verifiable evidence,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the consortium would additionally deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Optical Character Recognition (OCR) know-how to transform photos of election outcome sheets obtained from INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) into machine-readable knowledge.
“This allows us to organise, analyse, and distribute electoral information for use on interactive election-result platforms developed by consortium partners, including Dataphyte Foundation and BudgIT Foundation,” he mentioned.
Olufemi mentioned the initiative was essential amid issues about AI-generated misinformation, deepfakes, political intimidation and different challenges affecting the integrity of electoral data.
He mentioned the 2023 common elections had uncovered limitations in election data administration, notably issues surrounding the transmission and publication of outcomes on IReV.
“The challenges surrounding the INEC IReV, particularly during the transmission and publication of election results, called for the need for an independent, coordinated civic infrastructure,” he mentioned.
He cited YIAGA Africa’s September 2026 National Voting Intentions Survey, which reported that solely 34 per cent of respondents expressed confidence in INEC’s skill to conduct credible elections.
Olufemi mentioned NEDO would assist residents, journalists, researchers, electoral stakeholders and civil society organisations study electoral data and make evidence-based assessments.
He added that pre-election surveys and scenario assessments led by the DEAN Initiative would study electoral preparedness, residents’ perceptions, public confidence and rising dangers forward of the polls.
The findings, he mentioned, would inform a National Election Readiness Report, regional briefs and periodic scenario studies.
Olufemi mentioned the consortium would additionally analyse proof gathered throughout the elections, evaluate related observations with official outcomes and publish a post-election report.
He added that applicable datasets can be made accessible for analysis, advocacy and electoral reform.
Olufemi urged the media, civil society organisations, researchers, know-how companions and different stakeholders to interact with NEDO to strengthen transparency, accountability and entry to dependable electoral data forward of the 2027 common elections. (NAN)
Edited by Gabriel Yough
