Spokesperson of the Obidient Movement, Justin Ijeh, has called for the removal of Dr Lawrence Bayode, Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over controversies surrounding the appearance of AI-generated images in the voters’ register.
Speaking in an interview on Arise News, Ijeh said Bayode should not occupy such a sensitive position if he cannot guarantee the integrity and security of the electoral database.
He described the development as further evidence of incompetence in a critical area of national responsibility where errors could undermine democracy.“Why is the public the one having to draw attention to these issues? If you cannot manage something as critical as the voter system, you have no business being at INEC,” Ijeh said.
He recalled that Bayode supervised INEC’s ICT Directorate during previous elections that experienced technical glitches, raising questions about the commission’s technological readiness. Ijeh expressed particular concern over Bayode’s explanation that some INEC staff had tampered with the voters’ register, arguing that the admission pointed to weak supervision and control within the department.
The Obidient Movement spokesperson criticised what he called Bayode’s casual response to the allegations and stressed that managing the voters’ register requires specialised technical expertise.
He described the register as an identity management system that demands strict security measures, including zero-trust protocols, effective verification processes, and reliable audit controls.Ijeh questioned whether INEC had established acceptable error margins, proper data governance procedures, maker-checker processes, and internal audit mechanisms to prevent unauthorised changes.
He linked the controversy to earlier concerns about delays in displaying the voters’ register and warned that the latest issues could further erode public confidence in the electoral process.“INEC must be held accountable, and we are going to hold INEC accountable,” he said, adding that officials lacking the expertise to manage mission-critical systems should not remain in positions that affect the credibility of elections.
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