The National Human Rights Commission, the All Progressives Congress and the Federal High Court have thrown their weight behind a civil society initiative aimed at improving transparency in the 2027 general elections through an independent election results verification platform.
The support was expressed on Thursday in Abuja during the inaugural stakeholders’ meeting of the National Electoral Accountability Consortium and the launch of the Independent Election Results Platform.
The platform, developed by the TAP Initiative and its partners, is designed to enable citizens to upload and verify polling unit results independently to enhance transparency, curb manipulation and improve public confidence in the electoral process.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu (SAN), said credible elections remained central to the protection of citizens’ civil and political rights.
Represented by the commission’s Chief Legal Officer, Uzoamaka Ifechi-Fred, Ojukwu commended the initiative, describing it as an innovation capable of strengthening Nigeria’s democracy through transparency, accountability and public participation.
He said the commission would continue to work with relevant stakeholders to promote free, fair, peaceful and inclusive elections while protecting citizens’ right to participate in governance without intimidation or discrimination.
“As we all know, the National Human Rights Commission normally conducts election monitoring to ensure that the rights of people are protected during elections. I encourage all stakeholders to foster constructive dialogue, embrace innovation and work collectively towards deepening electoral integrity and democratic governance in Nigeria,” he said.
Also speaking, the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Tamara Preye, said initiatives that improve confidence in the electoral process could help reduce the growing number of election-related cases before the courts.
She noted that the court was already handling numerous pre-election disputes ahead of the 2027 polls.
“You know what the judiciary is; usually that’s where people head to air their grievances, and you can imagine the number of cases that we already have in the court now from pre-election. Initiatives like this, I believe, will probably help reduce some,” she said.
The National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, represented by Sylvanus Yekpe, also endorsed the initiative, saying the ruling party supported efforts that promote transparency and credibility in elections.
He urged participants to promote peaceful elections in their communities, stressing that violence-free polls were critical to Nigeria’s democratic stability.
Earlier, the Executive Director of TAP Initiative, Martin Obono, said the Independent Election Results Platform was created to empower citizens to participate directly in election transparency by uploading polling unit results to an independent database.
He said the platform was designed to address concerns over technical failures or political interference in election result management.
Obono also announced the establishment of the National Electoral Accountability Consortium, saying protecting Nigeria’s elections required broad collaboration among stakeholders.
“No single organisation or individual can achieve this alone. We are building a coalition where everyone becomes part of the process of protecting Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.
He added that the platform was open to all political parties for election monitoring and observation.
“In case IREV fails, the idea is to pull results together, harmonise them, coordinate them and have a simple data standard that is generally acceptable. You can then easily verify that data on the platform and also respond,” Obono said.