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Good practice Imported

CitiBot — ChatVE's WhatsApp and Telegram Chatbot for Civic Education in Nigeria's 2024 Edo State Election

Nigeria · Benin City · See the Nigeria profile · See the Benin City profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 100% 7/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Nigerian civic-tech firm ChatVE piloted CitiBot, a WhatsApp/Telegram chatbot explaining voting rights and procedures, during the October 2024 Edo State governorship election. It reached over 100 citizens across ten polling units — a small, unevaluated, single-cycle pilot.

100+
Citizens reached (Oct 2024 election)
10
Polling units covered
CitiBot — ChatVE's WhatsApp and Telegram Chatbot for Civic Education in Nigeria's 2024 Edo State Election

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
ChatVE
Period
October 2024
Keywords
civic education, elections, conversational AI, WhatsApp

Context

Ahead of Nigeria's October 2024 Edo State governorship election, the Lagos-based civic-technology firm ChatVE deployed CitiBot, an AI-powered, menu-driven chatbot accessible via WhatsApp, Telegram and QR code, designed to address low civic-education levels that Nigerian civic groups link to weak voter turnout and disputed results.

Objectives

CitiBot aimed to offer citizens information on their rights and responsibilities, government structure, voting procedures and the constitution.

Activities

According to ChatVE's own account, reported by Nigerian outlets Vanguard and BusinessDay, the pilot reached over 100 citizens across ten polling units in Edo State during the election period. Lead developer Israel Olatunji Tijani and partnerships head Gbolahan Ifeoluwa described the deployment as a test phase intended to inform iterative improvements.

Results

The reach figures — over 100 citizens across ten polling units — are self-reported by the developer with no independent verification, and there is no public data on whether the chatbot measurably changed civic knowledge or turnout.

Conclusions

This is an early-stage, single-cycle pilot: no formal partnership with Nigeria's electoral commission (INEC) or any government body was found in available sources. It illustrates both the promise and the current evidentiary limits of civic-tech chatbots for elections in the region.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Short (< 1 year)
Staffing & skills
ChatVE — Lagos-based civic-technology firm (lead developer Israel Olatunji Tijani, partnerships head Gbolahan Ifeoluwa)

Conditions for success

  • Low-cost, widely available channels (WhatsApp, Telegram, QR code) enabling low-infrastructure deployment

Common failure modes

  • Reach figures self-reported with no independent verification
  • No formal partnership with Nigeria's electoral commission (INEC) or any government body
  • No data on whether the chatbot measurably changed civic knowledge or turnout

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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