CredibleVoteNG, a citizen-built, open-access platform is  hosting precise, verified information for all 37 states (including the FCT), 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs), and 176,846 individual polling units for free.

This is coming months after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) placed a N1.5 billion price tag on requests for Nigeria’s complete polling unit register under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

But CredibleVoteNG, being promoted by two Nigerian technology enthusiasts have built a platform that provides the same information free of charge.

The platform, offers structured digital access to all 176,846 polling units across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, covering the country’s 774 local government areas and 8,809 electoral wards.

The initiative emerged against the backdrop of a public controversy that followed INEC’s October 2025 response to an FOI request by a Nigerian law firm seeking the commission’s polling unit database.

In its reply, the electoral body estimated that providing the information would cost N1,505,901,750, citing the need to print more than six million pages at N250 per page.

The response triggered widespread criticism from lawyers, civil society organisations and transparency advocates, who argued that electoral information critical to democratic participation should be readily accessible to citizens.

While the debate continued, Kelly Omobude, software developer and Uzoanya Grant, product owner, quietly worked on what would become CredibleVoteNG, a free and open-source platform designed to make electoral data available to everyone.

Accessible online through a public Application Programming Interface (API), the platform requires no registration, subscription or API key.

Developers, journalists, election observers, political parties and ordinary citizens can access the data without charge.

According to the founders, the project was inspired by the belief that credible elections depend on unrestricted access to reliable information.

“Independent observation requires independent data. If every organisation is working from the same verified, open baseline — that is the foundation for credible accountability. That is what we are trying to provide,” they said.

The platform enables users to navigate Nigeria’s electoral structure from the national level down to states, local government areas, wards and individual polling units through nine dedicated API endpoints. Information is delivered in a structured format within seconds, making it useful for both technical and non-technical users.

To broaden accessibility, the developers incorporated a Swagger-based interface that allows users with no coding experience to search and explore electoral data through a standard web browser.

Omobude, who designed the platform’s technical architecture, database infrastructure and cloud-hosting environment, said the project has been developed and maintained using personal resources since March 2023.

Grant, who led product design and user experience development, described the initiative as a civic intervention intended to bridge longstanding information gaps within Nigeria’s electoral ecosystem.

For election observers and civil society organisations, access to comprehensive polling unit data has often posed significant operational challenges.

Many monitoring groups spend weeks assembling information from multiple sources before deploying field personnel.

CredibleVoteNG seeks to eliminate that burden by providing a standardised and verified dataset that can be used simultaneously by multiple organisations.

Election monitoring experts say such access is particularly important for Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT), a globally recognised methodology used to independently verify election outcomes through polling unit-level data collection and analysis.

The platform’s creators argue that a common and publicly accessible electoral dataset can improve consistency among observer groups and strengthen confidence in election monitoring efforts.

The database may also prove valuable to journalists and media organisations, enabling them to verify polling unit distributions, scrutinise electoral claims and undertake data-driven reporting on voter access and representation.

The platform further highlights variations in polling unit distribution across the country. Lagos State has 13,325 polling units, Kano 11,222 and Kaduna 8,012, while Bayelsa has 2,244 and Ekiti 2,445.

Analysts say access to such information could encourage deeper discussions around voter accessibility, electoral logistics and resource allocation.

Political parties are also expected to benefit, as accurate ward and polling unit data are essential for deploying agents, monitoring election-day activities and identifying organisational gaps during campaigns.

Although the project has attracted limited publicity since its launch in March 2026, the founders say adoption has continued to grow through referrals and online searches.

Hosted on cloud infrastructure and verified across all states and the FCT, CredibleVoteNG is increasingly being viewed by election stakeholders as a practical contribution to transparency, civic participation and electoral accountability ahead of the 2027 general elections.

As preparations intensify for another election cycle, the emergence of a citizen-built platform providing free access to one of Nigeria’s most important democratic datasets underscores the role innovation can play in advancing transparency and strengthening public trust in the electoral process.

National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), has said that the National Environmental Plastic Waste Control Regulations 2026 are aimed at tackling pollution and promoting a circular economy, not shutting down industries.

The agency made the clarification in response to concerns raised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), saying some interpretations of the regulations are inaccurate and misleading.

NESREA said the rules provide a phased and consultative framework designed to improve recycling, producer responsibility, waste recovery and sustainable packaging across the value chain.

It stressed that the widely cited 80 micron requirement applies only to certain plastic carrier bags and does not amount to a blanket ban on single use plastics.

According to the agency, sensitive sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals and logistics are covered by separate provisions, while major requirements on recycled PET content will only begin to take effect from 2028 and 2030.

NESREA said the transition period is intended to give manufacturers and recyclers time to adjust operations and strengthen supply chains.

The agency argued that unregulated plastic pollution poses greater long term risks, including flooding, public health hazards and environmental degradation, adding that the regulations would create new opportunities in recycling and circular economy services.

It also maintained that the policy is guided by the polluter pays principle and is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s domestic recycling industry.

NESREA said it remains open to technical input from manufacturers and other stakeholders as implementation progresses.

Industrial manufacturing in Nigeria and West Africa at large has reached a historic milestone in 3D printing, as Arridex formally floated its breakthrough “Omnifactory” in Lagos.

The newly opened facility stands as the region’s very first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility, paving the way for a major shift toward localized production and self-reliance.

The launch follows a strategic rebranding of the company’s corporate identity from RusselSmith to Ariddex.

BabajideSanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor, who officially launched the plant, said: “Today, I opened West Africa’s first multi-technology industrial additive manufacturing facility in Lagos. By producing industrial components and spare parts here in Lagos, Arridex is helping to reduce our dependence on imports, strengthening critical industries and supporting economic growth.

“I commend the Arridex team for their vision and commitment to building solutions that serve not only Nigeria but the wider African continent. Lagos will continue to support investments that create opportunities, grow local capacity and position our state as a hub for innovation and industry,” he stated.

The ArridexOmnifactory aims to reshape industrial supply chains by housing several advanced 3D printing and fabrication techniques under a single roof. Utilizing cutting-edge systems like Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), Cold Spray, Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), the Lagos facility is built to create high-precision, on-demand industrial components and replacement parts.

Beyond standard gear, the site’s large-format machinery is robust enough to engineer full-sized marine parts and massive structural items for heavy industries.

Group Chief Executive Officer, Arridex, Kayode Adeleke, said: “We did not set out to build the biggest company, but a resilient one.

For over two decades, we have chosen the harder path, and that is to make in Africa what others import, to meet global standards without exception, and to put purpose before profit. The ArridexOmnifactory is where that conviction becomes infrastructure.

“The name on the door is new, but the work behind it is not. We are not stopping here. By the first quarter of 2027, we will commission the Arridex Mega Omnifactory, which will stand among the largest single-site industrial additive manufacturing facilities in the world. The next chapter of global manufacturing can be written from Lagos. We are building it,” he said.

According to him, this launch represents a massive leap forward for regional infrastructure, offering a direct solution to the supply bottlenecks that have choked West African enterprise for decades.

Historically, asset managers operating aging systems had to deal with grueling shipping lead times, complex international legalities, and the absolute vanishing of parts from long-defunct original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Omnifactory bypasses these hurdles entirely by enabling critical pieces to be conceptualized, rendered, and printed locally on demand.

The company currently holds Pioneer Status in additive manufacturing from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) and is the first enterprise qualified by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for 3D printing deployments in the oil patch. Furthermore, Arridex has solidified a joint venture partnership with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to locally manufacture military-grade components.

On the global stage, Arridex has also stepped up as the first African member of the Additive Manufacturer Green Trade Association (AMGTA) and is recognized as a Designated Strategic Partner of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC).