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.

Federal government has engaged the banking community in Abuja to deepen understanding of the Revenue Optimisation Assurance Platform (RevOp), a digital platform designed to improve revenue generation, reduce leakages, and enhance public sector accountability.

Mr Taiwo Oyedele, minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the Economy, told RevOp sensitisation workshop, organised by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in Abuja, that RevOp is a centralised digital revenue collection and monitoring system designed to modernise Nigeria’s public finance operations.

Oyedele, who was represented by Mr Mohammed Danjuma, permanent secretary, Special Duties, explained that the platform provides a real-time, automated framework for all federal agencies to raise, collect, and report revenues, replacing fragmented manual processes that have plagued revenue collection for decades.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to improving revenue generation, enhancing transparency, strengthening accountability, and leveraging technology to drive efficiency across public financial management processes.

“RevOp serves as a critical tool in the government’s drive to improve revenue administration, reduce leakages, and enhance public sector accountability,” he said.

According to him, a lot had been achieved since the inception and implementation of the platform and that the successes were not without challenges.

He identified one of the challenges as limited awareness among some banking channels and frontline officers.

The minister explained that some banking channels are not familiar with RevOp, its purpose, or the procedural requirements to support transaction processes through the platform.

“These challenges, though operational in nature, have significant impacts on the overall customer experience and effectiveness of the initiative. This is precisely why we are here today,” he said.

The minister said that the success of RevOp would not be achieved by government alone, adding that it required strong collaboration among all stakeholders, particularly banking institutions, which serve as critical collection and service channels.

He explained that the banking institutions’ role extends beyond merely collecting or processing payments to ensuring that government revenue collection processes are efficient and user-friendly.

“Today’s sensitisation session has, therefore, been organised to deepen understanding of the platform, clarify operational processes, address concerns, and establish stronger communication channels between the project team and participating financial institutions.

“We expect that the knowledge shared here will cascade throughout your respective organisations, especially to branch operations, customer service personnel, and tellers who interact directly with customers on a daily basis,” he said.

Oyedele said the ministry remained committed to working closely with all stakeholders to address identified challenges and continuously improve the platform.

In his speech, Dr. Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, accountant general of the Federation, said that the revenue optimisation portal had been adopted as a strategic platform for improving revenue collection, reconciliation, monitoring, and reporting.

Ogunjimi, represented by Mr Felix Ogundairo, his chief of staff, explained that the platform was designed to provide greater visibility into government revenue, eliminate leakages, improve compliance, and support informed decision-making through real-time data and analytics.

“This engagement, therefore, provides an opportunity for us to discuss implementation challenges, align expectations, clarify operational issues, and strengthen the partnership necessary for the success of the application,” he said.

In his remarks, Mr. Idris Dosunmu, RevOp Product Manager, explained that the platform unifies billing, payment and settlement under one platform and that every transaction passes through secure connections, ensuring complete transparency from bill creation to treasury receipt.

“This will ensure that every penny due to the federal government goes into the coffers of the government,” Dosunmu said.