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CredibleVoteNG Opens Free Access to all Polling Units in Nigeria after INEC Demanded N1.Bn for Register
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.
DataPro Rating Agency has upgraded the long-term credit rating of Dangote Cement Plc to AA+ from AA, citing the company’s strong financial performance, market leadership and ability to meet its financial obligations despite Nigeria’s challenging economic environment.
In its latest rating report, the technology-driven credit rating agency also affirmed Dangote Cement’s short-term rating at A1, with a Stable Outlook. The ratings are valid until June 16, 2027.
DataPro said the upgrade reflects the cement maker’s sustained financial strength, resilient operating performance and dominant position in Nigeria and across Africa.
According to the agency, the assessment followed a comprehensive review of the company’s capital base, earnings, liquidity, corporate governance, regulatory compliance and the sustainability of its financial performance over the medium to long term.
It noted that Dangote Cement’s strong brand, leading market share, solid earnings, robust asset base and experienced management continue to strengthen its ability to meet financial commitments on time.
The agency also highlighted the company’s outstanding financial performance in 2025.
According to the report, Dangote Cement posted N4.31 trillion in revenue during the year, representing a 20 per cent increase from the previous year. Profit before tax more than doubled, rising 109 per cent to N1.53 trillion, driven by higher sales, improved operating efficiency, lower finance costs and a stronger capital structure.
DataPro said the AA+ long-term rating indicates low credit risk and reflects excellent financial strength, business profile and operating performance relative to its rating benchmarks.
It added that the A1 short-term rating signifies good credit quality and shows that the company has a strong capacity to meet its short-term financial obligations as they fall due.
The rating agency, however, noted that the credit rating has a maximum shelf life of 12 calendar months in line with international best practice and should be used only as a reference, not as an offer to trade in securities or as a substitute for investors’ independent judgement.
Xora Finance has announced it will no longer consider job applicants from Nigeria.
Xora Finance is a digital bank founded by Joren Lundgren, in February 2026 and allows users to deposit and earn interest on their XRP cryptocurrency.
Lundgren, founder, in an announcement on X (formerly Twitter), cited an ongoing pattern of misconduct, such as dishonesty and theft, from previous Nigerian hires as the reason for the decision.
This sudden blanket ban came just days after the company’s official career page was aggressively recruiting remote workers for marketing and content roles.
The announcement generated heavy backlash online, with many people upset that a blanket rule punishes honest job seekers.
Some lawyers have said that victims of Ponzi schemes have legal remedies, although recovering lost funds and prosecuting perpetrators remain major challenges.
A Ponzi scheme is an investment fraud that pays existing investors with funds collected from new participants rather than from actual profits.
Operators lure victims by promising high returns with little to no risk.
The scheme inevitably collapses when the flow of new investors slows down.
Some lawyers who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) separate interviews with on Sunday, said that victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money.
Mr Chibuikem Opara, a lawyer at Justification Chambers, Ikeja,said many Nigerians continued to fall victim to Ponzi schemes in spite of repeated warnings.
Opara said it was wrong to attribute participation in Ponzi schemes to a lack of investment opportunities, noting that promoters often exploit investors’ greed through promises of unrealistic returns.
“What you cannot take away is the fact that many Nigerians have fallen and continue to fall victim to these schemes every time,” he said.
According to him, victims may individually or collectively institute civil actions against the beneficiary company for breach of contract or refund arising from failure of consideration.
Opara said victims could also unite to seek an order from the Federal High Court to wind up the beneficiary company.
He, however, noted that such efforts might yield little benefit if perpetrators had already siphoned the funds and left behind an empty shell.
The lawyer said available remedies largely depended on the actions of relevant authorities, adding that recipient accounts could be frozen to facilitate fund recovery and support winding-up proceedings.
Opara said regulators and law enforcement agencies often became aware of Ponzi schemes only after substantial losses had occurred.
According to him, victims frequently failed to report suspicious schemes early enough to enable timely intervention.
He added that funds are sometimes moved outside the country before authorities become aware of the fraud.
Opara also cited inadequate information and the deceptive nature of the schemes as major obstacles to investigation and prosecution.
“Most times, everything about the schemes is made to appear elusive, just like the profits promised to victims,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Vincent Aminu of A.F. Aminu and Co. advised that victims of investment scams should report such cases to appropriate law enforcement agencies on time.
Aminu said victims could petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or file reports with the police.
He said that after investigation, prosecutors could bring charges against suspects under relevant fraud-related laws, including provisions of the Criminal Code and the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act.
Beyond criminal prosecution, Aminu said .victims could pursue civil actions to recover their money
According to him, such actions may be based on breach of contract, unjust enrichment, or fraudulent misrepresentation, depending on the circumstances.
He added that victims could petition the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could investigate illegal operators, shut down unauthorised platforms, and freeze assets.
He identified the anonymity of online fraudsters as one of the biggest challenges confronting investigators.
According to him, many operators concealed their identities through fake digital profiles and technologies that made tracking them difficult.
Aminu also noted that victims who delayed taking legal action risked losing opportunities for redress.
He added that prolonged court proceedings often delayed justice for victims.
“Many fraud-related cases take years before the court reaches a verdict, thereby delaying justice for victims,” he said.
Also, Mr Chris Ayiyi of Ayiyi Chambers, Apapa, described Ponzi schemes as a gamble that benefited early participants at the expense of later investors.
Ayiyi said some early entrants received returns on their investments, thereby encouraging others to join the schemes.
He said the schemes eventually collapsed, leaving late investors to bear the losses
The lawyer called for a complete ban on Ponzi schemes or sustained public enlightenment campaigns against them.
He urged the National Assembly to enact laws that would strengthen regulation and provide greater protection for investors.
According to him, stronger legal safeguards are necessary in a country operating a capital-based economy.
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