By Daniel Peters, Abuja
A civil society group, the Polling Unit Ambassadors of Nigeria (PUAN), has called for partnership to strengthen Nigeria’s Democratic process ahead of 2027 elections.
The Ambassador General, Captain Dabas Suleiman, made the appeal at the unveiling of the PUAN App on Friday in Abuja.
The app is an election monitoring application designed to enhance citizen participation and promote electoral transparency across the nation’s polling units.
Ambassador Dabas Suleiman therefore called on government institutions, electoral stakeholders, political parties, civil society organizations, development partners, the diplomatic community, traditional institutions, community leaders, technology experts, the media, and citizens to join hands with PUAN in order to build partnerships that strengthen democratic institutions.
“Let us use technology to bring citizens closer to democratic processes. Let us use information to empower, not manipulate. Let us use data responsibly.
Let us promote fact-based civic engagement. Let us use our platforms to promote peace, not hatred. And let us use our influence to build Nigeria.
He said the event represented a significant step toward leveraging technology to strengthen democratic accountability and grassroots engagement in Nigeria’s electoral process.
PUAN Ambassador General described the launch as timely, emphasizing the platform’s potential to promote credible elections ahead of next year’s general poll.
”Today, we are launching an idea that technology can strengthen citizenship, that responsible citizens can use technology to promote transparency, accountability, peace, and participation,” Suleiman assured.
“An idea that every polling unit, every community, every citizen, and every vote matters and must count.”
Amb Suleiman elaborated on PUAN’s vision of building a new Nigeria from the polling unit level, describing these locations as critical spaces where democracy directly interacts with ordinary citizens.
”The polling unit is where citizens exercise their constitutional rights to vote, where political participation becomes real, and where trust in democracy can either be strengthened or weakened,” he explained.
”If we want to transform Nigeria, we must begin where democracy touches the ordinary citizens, from the polling units to the ward, local government State and ultimately across the nation.”
The Ambassador General further emphasized the importance of community-level accountability, stating that candidates should be known at the polling unit level, with voters having knowledge of who is seeking their support.
Later at a News Conference, PUAN Secretary General Prince Osa Osaghae, highlighted the disconnect between voter participation and electoral outcomes, noting that technology deployment could address this gap.
”Voters in Nigeria have been doing quite a lot, but the question is, what has it been translating to?” Osaghae asked. “Every election and the conduct starts at the polling unit which determines how the election is actually seen from every angle.”
He explained that PUAN aims to “deploy technology to ensure more participation and expose the activities of the polling unit so that the world can see live activities happening at the polling unit.”
For the first time, Osaghae revealed, technology will be deployed in the Osun State election to eliminate dark spots in polling units and ensure comprehensive observation.
Osaghae also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be more transparent in its processes, noting that international observers will be closely monitoring its conduct.
”The umpire will be observed by the whole world because the whole world will be looking at it live and direct—what is happening at the polling unit community,” he stated.
Delivering a keynote address entitled “Building a Stronger Democracy for Nigeria,” Professor Michael Abiodun Ajibade, identified the upcoming Osun State governorship election scheduled for August 15, 2026, as a critical test for Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
”The foundation of any strong democracy is not merely the act of voting, but the sanctity and credibility of the entire electoral process,” he noted.
Professor Ajibade, who is the Founder, Horizon International University, Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State, expressed concern about escalating political tensions, citing reports of more than 20 deaths in politically motivated violence leading up to the poll.
”The Osun election is more than a regional contest; it is a national referendum on the health of our democratic institutions, this is an unacceptable price to pay for political ambition,” Ajibade cautioned.
The PUAN initiative represents a growing movement toward citizen-led electoral observation and technological innovation in Nigeria’s democratic process.
