INEC and JAMB deepen cooperation on biometric verification

Nigeria’s electoral commission has offered to help the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board strengthen biometric checks in its examination system.

JAMB Registrar Segun Aina led a management delegation to INEC headquarters in Abuja on Friday. He said JAMB was seeking the electoral commission’s expertise because it had used biometric technology to identify and verify large numbers of Nigerians.

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We approached INEC as a sister agency with considerable experience in the deployment of biometric technology for the identification and verification of large numbers of Nigerians.

Aina asked INEC to consider making available equipment that might no longer be in active use. INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan welcomed the request and described JAMB as “a critical institution in Nigeria’s education system and the development of the country’s youth.”

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a critical institution in Nigeria’s education system and the development of the country’s youth

Amupitan directed INEC’s Director of Information and Communications Technology, Lawrence Bayode, to review the request and conduct a proof-of-concept assessment. The review will examine whether any biometric equipment is available, whether it remains in suitable technical condition, and whether JAMB could use it.

The INEC chairman also pointed to recent electoral exercises, including elections in Anambra and the Federal Capital Territory, governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun, and bye-elections nationwide. He said stakeholders including the Office of the National Security Adviser and the UK High Commission had commended the technology used in those exercises for supporting credible and peaceful polls.

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the growing importance of inter-agency collaboration