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NCS urges Government to Leverage ICT Infrastructure for Sustainable National Electoral Process
The President of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has said that using ICT to elect credible leaders could motivate successful and satisfied politicians and encouraged emerging governments to adapt ICT innovations to mainstream development and governance.
Professor Adesola Aderounmu, President, Nigeria Computer Society and Co-Centre Leader, World Bank-Designated Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering, said this during a keynote lecture delivered at the 5th Covenant University Conference on e-Governance in Nigeria, on Thursday 7th June, 2018.
Aderounmu, said that it is important to highlight the existence of a genuine need for ICT systems for development in sub-Sahara Africa.
He said, “In particular, we have to distinguish elections as the best opportunity to encourage political leaders to promote innovation in the polity.
“As the 2019 elections draw closer, there is no doubt that putting in place relevant ICT infrastructure now for the application of adaptable technology in our electoral processes will go a long way to ensure transparency and credibility of the elections.
“It is a welcome development that the leveraging of technology had started, even if rudimentary, with the last 2015 elections that ushered in the present administration in Nigeria.
“For instance, the application of technology for biometric registration of voters, the issuance of smart permanent voters card (PVCs) to voters and voter verification and authentication using the smart card reader, has helped the infiltration of ICT into the electoral process.
“So also was the idea to scan and upload all voting result sheets for all the elections on a database, which was made accessible to all stakeholders for some months after the 2015 elections.
“All these formative adaptations of technology with the 2015 elections are commendable, but there is still a long way to go with our future elections”.
He further explained that for us to use ICT to transform our future electoral processes and elections,there is need to employ sensitization,Civic Education and E-Inclusion.
He said that “when it comes to conducting elections, sensitization and civic education are very key in the electoral process and are necessary for democracy.
“It is all about voter consciousness and popular participation in elections.
“The citizens who are voters need to be effectively sensitized or enlightened about their civic duties and rights during elections.
“Voter education should come before and during an electoral event, showing how, where, and when to vote.
“Citizens need to know why they must turn out to vote and how to cast their votes to make them count.
“Sensitizing and educating voters in Nigeria have always been done via the traditional mass media and direct town-hall community engagements.
“Now, with the pervasive influence of technology in society today, educating and cultivating the Nigerian voters can be done better with the leverage of digital media like the mobile phone with bulk SMS, bulk voice call or inbound interactive voice response, and the use of web-portals from pre-election polls.
“Digital technology now enriches political communications and voter engagement like never before.
” And with the majority of people having access to computers and mobile technology devices these days, INEC and other concerned agencies can transform the sensitization, civic education and e-inclusion of Nigerian voters with the use of the Internet via popular social media like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp and special mobile applications to channel and disseminate voter education messages.
He noted that another way to leverage ICT for Nigeria’s electoral process is through constituency delimitation, using digital maps and charts for proper voter registration.
Professor Aderounmu, stated that voter Registration and Data Capture constitute a major foundational step in the electoral process.
“Without a proper voters register, there cannot be proper elections.
“In the words of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on its website, “Voter Registration is a process through which those qualified to vote are identified and included in a list called the register of voters.
“They are then issued with voters’ cards, which entitles them to vote during elections.” INEC goes further to state that “A credible voters’ register is a prelude to free and fair elections.
“Voter registration helps to facilitate the credibility of the electoral process by preventing multiple voting as each person is only allowed to register once. With this, no one is allowed to register at multiple centres.
“It helps in preventing cases of underage voting because only adults of voting age (18 years and above) are registered.”
He admonish the controversies being experienced in Nigeria, over voter registration as some complains of ghost names appearing on the voters register, names of foreign nationals appearing and names of under-age voters appearing too on the register.
“Others complain of missing names on election days after they have registered.
“All these issues tend to mar the electoral process, but the use of ICT infrastructure can make a positive difference.
“Thus one would recommend the use of a Centralized Countrywide Database for voter registration, drawing on the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) data inventory.
“Updates to the centralized database can be done through Web Portal E-mails with smart fields, mobile apps, and automatic fingerprint and photo identification systems.
“In a way, online voter registration via the Internet is simpler and more secure than paper registration and manual updates,” he added.
Aderounmu, said that, Nigeria would catch up with the rest of the world’s advanced democracies with adoption of ICT tools in securing electoral process integrity and deepening a truly democratic culture, the government must demonstrate enough Political will.
In his words, this implies that there must be implementation of bold policy moves on the part of the stakeholders involved to commit to actualizing an ICT-driven electoral system for the nation.
“It is not enough to make promises; there must be affirmative action”.
He added, that investing in capital and IT infrastructure for an ICT-enabled electoral process is very important.
He said, Sufficient investment (capital wise) and infrastructure will set the country on the right course.
“If a chunk of the trillions of Naira loot being recovered by the government is invested in IT infrastructure for our elections, it will go a long way to help.
“Robust ICT systems for a national electoral system do not come cheap, but they will pay dividends for our democracy in the long term.
The NCS President, also proffered solutions we can leverage on to solve the challenge of poor ICT application in our electoral process.
He stated that if could invest in the use of intuitive and easy to use machines, we will getting close to solving the challenges.
“The government, especially INEC, must invest in intuitive and easy to use database and software technologies that are as simple as using mobile phones.
“This will remove the factor of complexity in the deployment of ICT tools in our electoral system”.
Aderounmu, emphasized the fact that in spite of the many challenges of deploying technology in our electoral processes and elections in Nigeria, its benefits remain enormous.
He said that, we must catch up with the rest of the world in adopting ICT tools to streamline our electoral process, advance our democracy and institutionalize an enabling e-governance culture.
He noted that, the incorporation of ICT in our electoral system will greatly help improve election management in the country.
“We must go further to deepen the ICT usage by upgrading, especially, our applications of Electronic Voters Register, Automatic Fingerprints Identification System and Smart Card Reader in 2019 General Elections in order to minimize the unwholesome practices of multiple registration and multiple voting.
“This is how we can guarantee electoral integrity and strengthen our democracy.
He however recommended the following six step if we want to get our electoral system right and strengthen our democracy.
1. The Federal Government should urgently push for broadband access all over the country through PPP models
2. The Government must develop a robust sustainability model
3. Must roll out and implement effective local content policy
4. Must invest in high quality IT Manpower development
5. Must see to the Establishment of IT parks and Digital Centres in all the 774 LGAs through PPP models
6. And lastly, the Government should embrace a unified database for Nigeria
The organisers of the Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH 5.0) are delighted to announce George Agu, a distinguished technology entrepreneur and executive, as one of the keynote speakers at this year’s edition themed “AI & Sovereign Tech: Building Africa’s Digital Independence.”
Agu, the MD/CEO of ActivEdge Technologies Limited, is an astute founder and technology leader whose illustrious career spans over twenty-five years across core banking systems, enterprise applications, fintech, cybersecurity, and AI-powered e-government services. His experience blends strong technical expertise with strategic business leadership, having successfully built and scaled enterprise and public-sector technology platforms across West, East, and Southern Africa.
A Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Agu is also an alumnus of The Wharton School and the London School of Economics (LSE) through executive education, with specialisations in Entrepreneurship Acceleration, FinTech Revolution, Strategic Innovation, and Public Policy Analysis.
He began his professional journey as a software developer at CSA Nigeria in 2000, later joining Neptune Software, where he rose from Systems Implementation Manager to Managing Director/CEO for West Africa. At Neptune, he played a pivotal role in the success of the Equinox and Orbit core-banking platforms, with Orbit earning the No. 1 global ranking in microfinance core banking by CGAP (Washington DC).
As a serial founder, Agu established ActivEdge Technologies, a pan-African systems integrator delivering solutions in cybersecurity, GRC, enterprise automation, cloud, and core infrastructure, executing projects in more than six African countries.
He went on to found PayEdge, a fintech company addressing MSME liquidity and supply-chain finance challenges, and Introspec, a settlement and reconciliation platform used by banks in over fifteen African countries.
His latest innovation, HarmonyEdge, is an AI-powered e-government platform that digitises workflows, enables analytics and decisioning, supports citizen engagement, and powers payment and e-reconciliation systems — currently being piloted in a leading African nation.
Beyond entrepreneurship, George Agu contributes actively at board and civic levels. He serves on the Abia State Global Economic Advisory Council, chairing a sector committee, and on the board of TN Cybertech Bank, where he leads the Technology and Strategy Committee.
He also chairs the Business Roundtable of the African Bar Association and serves as Deputy President of the South East–South South Professionals.
Speaking ahead of AfriTECH 5.0, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, co-convener, described Agu as a “seasoned technology visionary whose work embodies the spirit of African innovation and digital self-reliance.”
“His keynote will provide practical insights on how AI and sovereign technologies can redefine digital transformation across Africa’s public and private sectors”, Onwuegbuchi said.
AfriTECH 5.0 will convene industry leaders, policymakers, investors, and innovators to explore the role of AI and indigenous technologies in driving Africa’s digital independence.
The event is supported by NCC with Digital Encode Limited as the Platinum Sponsor. Other Gold sponsors are Galaxy Backbone, itel, Digital Realty, ActivEdge Technologies, Tecom, Tizel Cybersecurity, AfriGoPay Financial Services Limited, SKOT Communications and other ecosystem partners.
Kashifu Inuwa, director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has called for urgent and strategic investment in Africa’s digital public infrastructure, describing it as the foundation for sustainable economic transformation, job creation, and intra-African trade.
Speaking at the 2nd annual Sustainability Week Africa held at The Westin, Cape Town, South Africa, Inuwa emphasized that Africa’s economic destiny hinges on its own “compute capacity,” which he described as a primary factor of production in the 21st century.
“In the 21st century, compute power is a primary factor of production, and we cannot rely on exporting our raw data to other regions to process it and build products for us,” Inuwa said during a panel session on Digital Infrastructure for Jobs and Trade in Africa.
He urged African governments to emulate Europe’s collaborative approach to building high-performance supercomputers and AI factories by creating policy incentives that attract private sector investment in digital infrastructure.
Digital public infrastructure (DPI), he explained, operates at two levels: the shared physical and technical infrastructure such as connectivity and cloud capacity; and the functional layer, which includes digital identity, payment systems, and data exchange platforms that enable seamless access to services.
Citing Nigeria’s progress, the NITDA DG disclosed that over 130 million Nigerians have been enrolled under the national digital identity system.
He also revealed ongoing efforts to establish a national data exchange platform and a DPI Centre of Excellence to promote interoperability and best practices across all tiers of government.
“The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy in Nigeria, Dr Bosun Tijani, is leading and pushing for establishing a DPI centre of excellence, where we can have people building the actual DPI data exchange well, building APIs, and also coming up with best practices,” Inuwa stated.
On digital literacy, Inuwa reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to achieving 95% digital literacy by 2030 and 70% by 2027 under the National Digital Literacy Framework.
He noted that digital skills have become mandatory for students and civil servants, with partnerships involving Cisco and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to train youth, women, and market traders in digital tools and AI-powered applications.
He called for clear policy frameworks to guide AI adoption and technology development across Africa, stressing that digital transformation is not a sector but an enabler for every sector of the economy.
“In Africa, we need to have our digital circuits by building our own capacity for digital self-determination. We should not rely on other countries to be sending hardware and software to us because our goal is to build a better life for our citizens, and technology will help us achieve that,” he said.
Inuwa concluded by advocating stronger coordination between governments, the private sector, and development partners to harmonise digital standards and scale innovation across the continent.
“Africa’s advantage lies in our ability to leap, to build collaboratively, and to design technology for inclusion. If we build the digital rails together, our youth will drive Africa straight into the heart of the global digital economy,” he said.
Sustainability Week Africa is a continental platform that showcases practical ways for governments, businesses, and communities to embrace green growth. The 2025 edition focused on Africa’s role in driving energy transition, climate resilience, and sustainable development.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and Meta Platforms Inc. are set to formally adopt the final terms of a $32.8 million data privacy settlement before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Nov. 3, following months of negotiations over alleged breaches of Nigeria’s data protection laws.
The NDPC had in February 2025 imposed a $32.8 million sanction on Meta, alongside eight corrective orders, for allegedly violating the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
The commission accused the global tech giant of engaging in behavioural advertising without obtaining proper user consent and transferring Nigerian user data abroad without legal authorization.
According to the NDPC, Meta’s practices contravened core principles of transparency and accountability in data processing, prompting the regulator to take enforcement action under the newly enacted data protection law.
Meta subsequently approached the court seeking a review of the commission’s decision and a stay of enforcement. However, the court declined the request, paving the way for both parties to enter into negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute amicably.
At the latest hearing, Meta’s counsel, Mr. Fred Onuobia (SAN), informed the court that both parties had reached a settlement agreement. Justice James Omotosho, presiding over the matter, welcomed the development but emphasized the need for judicial scrutiny of the settlement terms.
“There have been instances where issues not part of the original suit are smuggled into settlement terms. The court must therefore examine the document carefully before approval,” Justice Omotosho stated, before fixing Nov. 3 for formal adoption of the agreement.
The settlement, once adopted, is expected to conclude one of Nigeria’s most significant data protection enforcement cases and could set a major precedent for how global technology firms operate within the country’s regulatory framework.
Legal analysts say the case underscores the growing assertiveness of Nigeria’s data protection regime and signals a shift toward stricter compliance expectations for multinational digital platforms operating in the country.
The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023, signed into law to strengthen privacy rights and data governance, empowers the NDPC to investigate violations, impose sanctions, and enforce corrective measures to safeguard citizens’ personal data.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has faced increasing scrutiny globally over its data handling practices. The outcome of the Nigerian case is expected to influence future engagements between regulators and tech firms across Africa.
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