2027: Timi Frank warns Tinubu, INEC against election manipulation

Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has warned President Bola Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against any attempt to manipulate the 2027 general election.

Frank, in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, October 30, 2026, expressed concern over allegations that artificial intelligence-generated photographs and questionable names had appeared in the preliminary national register of voters.

He urged INEC to investigate the disputed entries, establish how they were introduced into the database and explain transparently the process used to compile the register.

Frank described the allegations as a threat to the credibility of the electoral process and warned that Nigerians would not accept an election result that did not reflect their votes.

“The discovery of INEC using AI-generated voters’ register is a clear indication of a rigging plot,” he alleged.

He also warned that attempts to manipulate the election could trigger serious political and security consequences, arguing that electoral authorities should not assume that aggrieved parties and candidates would simply seek redress in court.

“They believe they can rig the election and then tell the opposition to go to court. That will not happen in 2027,” he said.

The former APC spokesman further questioned public confidence in the judiciary and urged the electoral commission to prevent irregularities rather than depend on post-election litigation to resolve disputes.

Frank also called on the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other international partners to engage the Nigerian government and INEC ahead of the polls to promote transparency and credible elections.

He specifically urged the US government to draw on its diplomatic engagement with Nigeria during the 2015 general election.

His comments came amid controversy over the preliminary voters’ register uploaded to INEC’s website on October 26, which attracted public attention after images suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence appeared alongside some voter records.

INEC has acknowledged that questionable records were identified during the physical display of the preliminary register between October 9 and 15 and said it had begun reviewing the affected entries.

The commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, subsequently said some registration officers had allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the database.

Bayode explained that the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify the questionable records. He also clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.

INEC has maintained that the online document is a preliminary register, not the final certified voters’ register. It said the review and data-cleaning process would continue before the final register is certified on December 15, 2026.

The commission has also promised to take appropriate action based on the findings of its investigation.

Frank, who serves as the United Liberation Movement for West Papua ambassador to East Africa and the Middle East, urged INEC to demonstrate its independence and ensure that every eligible Nigerian can register and vote without interference.

He maintained that addressing concerns about the voters’ register before the election would be essential to protecting public confidence in the 2027 electoral process.