Samson Itodo

Samson Itodo is a renowned community organizer and the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, a civic organization dedicated to promoting democracy across Africa. With extensive expertise in African politics, elections, constitution building, social movements and youth development, Samson has been a pivotal figure in advancing electoral integrity and democracy in Africa. He has also been instrumental in encouraging the inclusion of young people in politics. One of his most notable achievements is the successful #NotTooYoungToRun global campaign, which significantly lowered the minimum age for elective office in Nigeria. Samson serves on the boards of International IDEA and the Kofi Annan Foundation. He is the Principal Partner at the Election Law Center, a think tank dedicated to advancing Africa’s electoral jurisprudence and election law scholarship.

Samson holds graduate and postgraduate degrees in Law from the University of Jos and a Master of Public Policy from the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, where he was an Africa Oxford Initiative Scholar. As a policy advocate, he provides strategic policy advice to parliamentary committees, electoral commissions, political parties, civil society organizations, and academic institutions. His current research interests include social movements, elections, democratic innovation, and African politics. He is leading pioneering research on the role of Artificial Intelligence in election administration in Africa and serves as the convenor of the annual AI and Elections in Africa Conference. Samson has also served as a Commonwealth electoral training expert on electoral technology, Artificial Intelligence, and stakeholder management, supporting electoral commissions across Africa, the Pacific region, and Asia with skills development, technical expertise, and policy frameworks. He is current Chairperson of the African Union Advisory Group on AI in Peace, Security, and Governance, where he leads work on developing continental guidelines for AI use in elections. He is also engaged in global initiatives focused on building AI governance frameworks for electoral integrity. He is a current member of the global AI Advisory Group on Elections. 

Under his leadership, Yiaga Africa has become a leading voice for political inclusion, electoral integrity, and public accountability, using citizen engagement, data, technology, and policy advocacy. He has led democracy initiatives in Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ethiopia, and observed elections in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the United States, and South Africa. Committed to credible elections and nurturing Africa's next generation of leaders, Samson’s work has earned numerous fellowships, awards, and recognitions. In 2018, he was named a Goalkeeper by the Gates Foundation and honored as Rising Democracy Leader in Africa by the National Democratic Institute (NDI). He received the Future Africa Award for Young Person of the Year and the Leadership Newspaper's Outstanding Young Person of the Year award. Additionally, he was listed among the 100 Most Influential Young Africans by the African Youth Awards.

Samson is a recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellowship, the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance Fellowship at the University of Cape Town, the International Visitors Leadership Program of the U.S. Department of State, the Swedish Visitors Leadership Program, the European Union Visitors Program (EUVP), and the UK International Leaders Program. He has been recognised by the United States Embassy in Nigeria as a Nigerian Star for his exceptional service to Nigeria and Nigerians.