…Urges peaceful campaigns, warns against AI manipulation as Obidients query INEC’s plans to deploy AI tools
By Franklin Adole
Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday challenged politicians seeking elective offices in 2027 to take their programmes directly to Nigerians, make their case peacefully, and allow the electorate to freely decide who should govern them.
Akpabio, who declared that no political ambition or electoral victory was worth the life of a Nigerian, warned candidates and their supporters against violence, intimidation, misinformation, and campaigns capable of setting Nigerians against one another along ethnic, religious, or regional lines.
Speaking in Abuja as the Senate resumed plenary after its legislative recess, the Senate President acknowledged that the country had effectively entered another campaign season, with political parties already fielding candidates and Nigerians preparing to assess competing visions for the country.
“Let every candidate make a case and answer hard questions. Let every citizen be free to decide thereafter,” Akpabio said.
He stressed that the coming contest must remain a battle of ideas rather than one of violence, intimidation, and division.
“No electoral prize is worth a Nigerian life. No victory deserves celebration if it leaves the nation wounded,” he declared.
Akpabio urged political actors to recognise that disagreement and competition were legitimate elements of democracy but must never be allowed to threaten national unity.
He also sounded the alarm over the growing danger of misinformation, particularly the potential deployment of Artificial Intelligence to manipulate campaign materials, fabricate information, or mislead voters ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Senate President said politicians could campaign vigorously and disagree strongly without turning communities, faiths, or regions against one another.
He similarly urged senators not to allow electioneering to distract them from their constitutional responsibilities, insisting that lawmakers were elected to serve until the expiration of their mandates.
Akpabio also turned attention to insecurity, directing a strong appeal to security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue Nigerians being held captive and strengthen protection for vulnerable communities.
He said the Senate would use its legislative, appropriation, and oversight powers to support measures capable of improving security and protecting lives.
On the economy, Akpabio acknowledged the pressures confronting Nigerians, including living costs, unemployment, and difficulties faced by small businesses, saying improving citizens’ livelihoods must remain a priority.
He also called for better preparation against flooding and more effective relief for affected communities.
As Nigeria prepares to mark its 66th Independence Anniversary, Akpabio urged Nigerians to preserve national unity and democratic values despite the intensity of the emerging political contest.
Meanwhile, controversy over the use of Artificial Intelligence in the 2027 elections deepened on Tuesday as the Obidient Movement raised objections to plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission to deploy AI tools in its operations.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, had disclosed that the commission was deploying AI tools to detect discrepancies and administrative errors in election results while also strengthening its defences against AI-generated disinformation, including fake result sheets, cloned voices, fabricated videos, and forged documents.
But National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko, said INEC must provide greater clarity about how the technology would operate and what safeguards would prevent abuse.
The movement demanded publication of INEC’s comprehensive 2027 election plan, independent scrutiny of its electoral technology, and transparent, verifiable transmission of results.
It argued that technological innovation alone could not guarantee credible elections without transparency, accountability and public confidence in the electoral process.
Tanko also cited an analysis of polling-unit result records by Mundx Analytics in raising questions about the technology used during the 2023 presidential election. The analytics firm’s findings, however, did not by themselves establish who owned particular devices, whether metadata had been altered or whether votes were changed.
The movement urged INEC to subject its proposed AI systems to independent testing and public scrutiny before the 2027 elections.
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