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Facebook Highlights Efforts to Protect Election Integrity in Nigeria, Africa
With a number of upcoming elections across Africa, Facebook has restated its commitment to reduce the spread of misinformation, protect election integrity and support civic engagement across the continent, including Nigeria.
The social media giant has in recent times dedicated unprecedented resources to these efforts globally, especially in Africa where its efforts have been focused in eight key areas, namely fighting false news, boosting digital literacy to help people spot false news, promoting civic engagement, making political ads more transparent, proactive removal of impersonation accounts, and connecting with political parties about security.
It has also undertaking the training of journalists on practices for sharing content on its platforms, while partnerships with NGOs and civil society groups on the continent.
Akua Gyekye, Facebook’s Public Policy Manager, Africa Elections said: “We want to stop the spread of false news on our platforms. That’s why we’ve teamed up with local third-party fact-checkers across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon and Senegal — including Africa Check, AFP (Agence France-Presse), Pesa Check (a local Kenyan fact-checking organization) and Dubawa (a local Nigerian fact-checking organization).
These independent groups help us assess the accuracy of news shared on Facebook, and when they determine content is false, we reduce its distribution in News Feed so fewer people see it. We also show related articles from fact-checkers for more context and notify users if a story they have shared is rated as false.”
Additionally, in Nigeria, WhatsApp has worked with Africa Check and CrossCheck Nigeria to let users send questions about potential rumours they have received through the platform.
These fact-checking expansions are part of a broader strategy to fight fake news that includes extensive work to remove fake accounts, cut off incentives to the financially-motivated actors that spread misinformation, promote news literacy, and give more context so people can decide for themselves what to read, trust, and share.
Facebook has also intensified efforts help people spot false news on their own and to flag it, rolling out educational tips on national and regional radio and in print media across Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
In Nigeria, WhatsApp has launched its “Share Facts, Not Rumours” campaign to help increase awareness about hoaxes. Additionally, at the end of last year Facebook began a new Online Safety Programme for students in Nigerian secondary schools.
The 12-week workshop is designed to help teenagers understand the fundamentals of online safety and digital literacy, covering topics such as managing an online presence; social media and sharing; public Wi-Fi safety; building healthy relationships online; understanding password security and privacy settings; and identifying misinformation online.
According Facebook, it is also promoting civic engagement around the elections. “Helping to build informed and civically engaged communities is central to our work around elections. In Nigeria, we’ve rolled out new options in English & Hausa so people can report posts that contain incorrect election information, encourage violence or otherwise violate our Community Standards. On Election Day, we’ll show a voting day reminder in English and Hausa at the top of Facebook’s News Feed,” Gyekye said.
Arguably one of its boldest move to date, Facebook is also making political ads more transparent across the globe including Africa. Earlier this month, it began temporarily expanding enforcement and not accepting foreign election ads on Facebook in Nigeria to help prevent foreign interference.
Another measure deployed has been the proactive removal of impersonation accounts, thanks to recent advancements in its detection technology, which has made it to become much more effective at identifying these accounts.
Other activities Facebook is involved in includes journalist trainings to educate media groups and journalists across the country on best practices for sharing content on its platforms and online safety, partnerships with NGOs and Civil Societies to better understand local issues and how to tackle them more effectively as well as organising trainings for parties, campaigns and candidates on security best practices, including how to turn on two-factor authentication and how to avoid common threats online.
“We want Facebook and WhatsApp to be places where people feel safe, can access accurate information and make their voices heard. We are making significant investments, both in products and in people, and continue to improve in each of these areas,” Gyekye said.
Patience Okala, the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office has urged African countries to stop exporting raw materials and instead focus on adding value to its natural resources if it is to fully harness the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
She stated this on Thursday at the Streamsowers & Köhn 20th Anniversary Business Forum, where she stressed that value addition and beneficiation are essential to Africa’s industrialisation and long-term economic growth.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, she said the AfCFTA goes beyond the elimination of tariffs, serving as a framework for industrialisation, value addition, and job creation across the continent.
“AfCFTA is not only about tariffs; it is also about value addition. Africa has to stop exporting raw materials. We need to add value and ensure that beneficiation is done on the continent,” she said.
Okala also said Africa’s economic transformation would depend on the effective implementation of the AfCFTA rather than on the signing of trade agreements alone.
“We have moved beyond negotiations. The success of AfCFTA will be measured by the extent to which businesses can access new markets, trade seamlessly across borders, and benefit from the opportunities created by the agreement,” she said.
She noted that Nigeria had intensified efforts to implement the agreement under the leadership of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, including the development of simplified AfCFTA guides in six languages to help businesses understand and take advantage of opportunities under the trade pact.
Okala called for stronger collaboration among governments, regulators, and the private sector to eliminate barriers to trade and investment and build a truly integrated African market.
“As we move from policy to implementation, our collective responsibility is to ensure that the opportunities created by AfCFTA become practical realities for businesses, particularly MSMEs, women-owned enterprises, and young entrepreneurs across the continent,” she said.
Cisco is exploring artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions to support smallholder farmers in Nigeria, as part of efforts to expand digital inclusion and technology adoption.
The initiative focuses on improving agricultural productivity through accessible, data-driven tools.
The move aligns with growing collaboration between Nigeria and the United States under the Commercial and Investment Partnership, which prioritises the digital economy, agriculture and infrastructure.
Speaking at the 2026 World Business Chicago, Brian Tippens, chief social impact and inclusion Officer at Cisco, said the company is assessing practical AI applications to help farmers combine local knowledge with data insights.
He said Cisco is exploring tools such as AI-enabled WhatsApp communities, geospatial mapping and weather intelligence to support day-to-day farming decisions.
The approach reflects a shift towards low-cost, mobile-first solutions suited to rural environments.
Tippens added that the Cisco Foundation is investing in early-stage startups developing technologies for local agricultural challenges.
Industry analysts note that AI adoption in emerging markets depends on locally relevant solutions, rather than large-scale enterprise deployments alone.
Beyond agriculture, Cisco plans to expand digital skills development in Nigeria through programmes such as the Cisco Networking Academy’s One Million Learners initiative.
Tippens said the programme also supports partnerships with organisations working with persons with disabilities, including those developing tools for people with visual impairments.
He added that Cisco’s social impact strategy aims to improve access to technology and promote inclusion, including in conflict-affected regions such as Borno State.
Cisco’s initiatives form part of broader efforts to link digital skills, connectivity and AI adoption to economic development in Nigeria.
Federal Government has launched a nationwide Artificial Intelligence (AI) capacity-building programme for teachers in Federal Unity Colleges, with about 11,700 educators set to acquire digital skills aimed at improving classroom instruction and preparing students for a technology-driven future.
The initiative advanced with the signing of the Terms of Reference (ToR) between the Federal Ministry of Education and ICEDT Consult Limited, paving the way for the nationwide implementation of the AI Teacher Capacity Development Programme.
The programme, to be implemented through the ministry’s Education Support Services Department, is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to modernise Nigeria’s education sector, strengthen teacher professionalism and equip students with skills required in the digital economy under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Speaking during the signing ceremony in Abuja, the Director of the Education Support Services Department, Gabriel Amudipe, described the initiative as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s teaching workforce and the future of education.
He said the nationwide rollout followed the successful completion of a pilot phase conducted in selected Federal Unity Colleges.
According to him, the implementation model developed by ICEDT Consult Limited will ensure effective coordination and quality delivery of the programme across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Amudipe urged officials responsible for monitoring the project to ensure strict compliance with the implementation guidelines and maintain the standards achieved during the pilot phase.
“The ministry remains committed to supporting innovative initiatives that strengthen teacher professionalism, improve learning outcomes and promote the responsible integration of emerging technologies into education,” he said.
Earlier, the Deputy Director of the Education Support Services Department, Oladele Fapohunda, described the programme as a strategic intervention designed to deepen digital innovation across Federal Unity Colleges.
He stressed that collaboration among all stakeholders would be essential to achieving the objectives of the initiative nationwide.
Also speaking, the Head of Strategic Partnerships and Learning Scientist at ICEDT Consult Limited, Dr Abdulrahman Orosanya, said the Federal Government approved the national rollout after the successful pilot implementation in six Federal Unity Colleges representing Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
According to Orosanya, the pilot demonstrated the potential of Artificial Intelligence to improve lesson planning, classroom delivery, assessment methods and teachers’ productivity.
He said the nationwide implementation would strengthen teachers’ digital competencies, improve instructional delivery and support the government’s vision of building a technology-driven education system capable of producing globally competitive graduates equipped with 21st-century skills.
The ceremony ended with the formal signing of the Terms of Reference by officials of the Federal Ministry of Education and ICEDT Consult Limited, signalling the commencement of preparations for full implementation across all Federal Unity Colleges.
The ministry said the programme would directly train about 11,700 teachers, while thousands of students across the country’s Federal Unity Colleges are expected to benefit through improved classroom instruction, increased digital innovation and the responsible application of Artificial Intelligence in teaching and learning.
It reaffirmed its commitment to working with relevant stakeholders to modernise Nigeria’s education system, improve teacher quality and deliver inclusive, equitable and future-ready education nationwide.
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