NEDO Consortium to Deploy 4,000 Observers for 2027 Elections

The Nigeria Election Data Observatory (NEDO) Consortium, comprising Dataphyte Foundation, Yiaga Africa, BudgIT Foundation, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), and DEAN Initiative, announced plans to deploy over 4,000 observers for the 2027 general election. This initiative, launched in Abuja, aims to bolster independent monitoring of the electoral process, including voting, result collation, and transmission.

A shared data platform will be utilized to combine information from observers, media, and technology systems, creating an independent evidence base for verifying official election data. The platform will employ AI-powered optical character recognition (OCR) to convert result-sheet images from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal (IReV) into machine-readable data, allowing for the identification of discrepancies.

The consortium's efforts are in response to a September 2026 survey indicating only 34 percent of respondents trust INEC's ability to conduct credible elections. Oluseyi Olufemi, Country Director of Dataphyte Foundation, emphasized the need for coordinated civic resources to enhance electoral integrity.