The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is considering a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology systems and a mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the ongoing 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN).

Amupitan, represented by National Commissioner Prof. Sanni Adam, said the proposed measures were aimed at addressing concerns raised over the performance and reliability of electoral technology during the 2023 elections.

He said the technology audit would cover system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning to identify and resolve vulnerabilities before the 2027 polls.

The INEC chairman also said the Commission was exploring a mock presidential election that would simulate election-day conditions and test voter accreditation, results transmission and results viewing systems.

According to him, the measures are part of efforts to ensure that the technology deployed for the 2027 elections is thoroughly tested and capable of performing reliably under real-election conditions.

Amupitan, however, warned that even flawless technical performance would not, on its own, guarantee electoral integrity, noting that threats had increasingly shifted to the information ecosystem surrounding elections.

Also speaking, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Director-General, Lanre Issa-Onilu, called for stronger collaboration among the media, fact-checkers, academia, civil society organisations, security agencies and technology platforms to combat misinformation and disinformation ahead of 2027.

Issa-Onilu said technological advances had created new opportunities for citizen participation while also accelerating the spread of misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

He urged Nigerians to develop the habit of verifying political information before sharing it, particularly by checking its source and credibility.

Similarly, ACSPN National President, Prof. Rotimi Williams Olatunji, called for an integrated electoral information integrity framework to tackle AI-driven disinformation and other emerging digital threats.

Olatunji said the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, social media, algorithms and data-driven political communication was reshaping how Nigerians received information, formed political opinions and participated in democratic processes.