Voter register: INEC must name officials responsible for AI photographs – Atiku

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Atiku Abubakar, has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must name its officials responsible for the inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated photographs in the voter register.

The former vice president, in a statement by the Director, Strategic Communication, ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said INEC’s admission that AI generated images and other irregularities entered the voter register through its registration officers, is a scandal that strikes at the heart of the Commission’s credibility.

Recently, there have been concerns over the detection of AI generated photographs and other suspicious entries in the voter register displayed online by the INEC. Nonetheless, the commission, which has acknowledged the abnormality, blamed its registration officers for the development.

However, the ADC presidential; candidate charged opposition leaders and the international community to demand an independent audit, full disclosure and accountability on the voter register scandal.

Atiku, while accusing the President Bola Tinubu administration of allegedly enabling the crisis by allowing INEC to evade scrutiny, stated that the electoral umpire has no right to demand trust while shielding those responsible for the infraction.

“INEC has admitted that some AI generated images are on the voter register and that registration officers introduced irregularities across the country. The Commission charged with protecting Nigerians’ votes has acknowledged that its own system was abused by those entrusted to operate it. This is a catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards.

“Prof. Joash Amupitan through Boyode Lawrence says INEC knows what its officers did and how they tampered with the register, yet claims it does not know why. That is a disgraceful evasion, not an answer. Even ordinary WhatsApp, Facebook and email accounts appear to have stronger security safeguards than those INEC’s ICT director described on national television. How can a database holding the votes of millions of Nigerians be less secure than a personal social media account?

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