Nigeria may not fully embrace electronic voting (e-voting) anytime soon due to infrastructural limitations and the need for cautious deployment, according to Dr. Ajibola Bashiru, National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Bashiru, a former senator, made the remarks in Lagos on Tuesday while delivering a lecture titled “Tech Governance in 2025: Balancing Innovation with Responsibility” at the 12th Prof. Adetokunbo Babatunde Sofoluwe Memorial Anniversary, organised by the UNILAG Alumni Association, Lagos State Branch.
He stresses that while technology has the potential to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process, a full-scale transition to e-voting must be gradual, given its vulnerabilities and the country’s infrastructural gaps.
“Electronic voting remains a potential tool to improve the electoral process, but it should be done gradually and with caution,” Bashiru says. “Even in advanced democracies, elections are not conducted 100 percent electronically.”
Citing examples from the United States, he notes that the world’s leading democracy still relied on some manual processes in its last elections, underlining the global limitations of fully digital voting.
e-Voting: Key challenges Bashiru identified
- Inadequate power supply
- Poor Internet connectivity
- Cybersecurity risks
- Risks of software manipulation
He warns that while digital platforms could improve efficiency, weak safeguards could expose elections to malicious coding and compromise their integrity.
APC’s digital push
On party reforms, Bashiru discloses that the APC has already commenced e-registration of members, which he described as an early step in embracing digital governance solutions.
Technology in education
Beyond politics, the APC National Secretary urges Nigerian universities to adopt digital innovations such as e-learning and AI-driven tools to transform the education sector.
Supporting the call, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, UNILAG Vice Chancellor, says that AI and the Internet were reshaping teaching and learning. However, she cautions that universities must prioritise genuine knowledge acquisition to avoid producing graduates who “deceive society.”
The memorial event also featured Owoeye Adedeji, Chairman of the Lagos Alumni Branch, who says the annual occasion honours Prof. Adetokunbo Sofoluwe, UNILAG’s 10th Vice Chancellor, while also serving as a fundraiser to support academic departments.
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