The number of social media users in Nigeria, which was 200,000 in 2000, has increased to 36.75 million as of January 2024. It is sufficient to say that social media platforms have transformed the communication mode, information and knowledge sharing, and engagement with one another or groups of people within and outside Nigeria. The Nigerian government and its institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), are also using social media platforms for their activities. Given the above, the study examined the opportunities offered by social media platforms to the INEC. It analysed the challenges impeding the INEC from effectively using social media for its activities. The study relied on primary and secondary data. The primary data consisted of the author’s observations of events surrounding the INEC and its activities. And, the secondary data were gathered through academic journals, textbooks, official documents of INEC, newspapers, magazines, and Internet sources. The data collected were subjected to content analysis. The study showed that social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and YouTube, provided opportunities for the INEC, offering interactive options such as “re-tweeting”, “forwarding”, and “commenting” on any information sent or received, among other options applicable to different social media platforms. Social media also provided the INEC with the opportunity to communicate with and engage its over 16,000 staff members simultaneously. It also provided the INEC with the opportunity to reach out to large numbers of people and diverse stakeholders, disseminate vital information regarding the elections and electoral process to them, and gather feedback. On the challenges inhibiting INEC from effective use of social media for its activities, the study identified the following: limited budgetary allocation for social media activities; low or limited Internet access; low digital literacy among staff; cybersecurity threats; technical glitches and hitches during live updates; language difficulty; conflict of interest among staff; ambiguous social media guidelines; cyberattacks on INEC’s social media accounts; and physical attacks on INEC’s social media equipment or tools, among others. Some of these challenges emerged and threatened the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections. The study concluded that, despite the identified difficulties, the platforms offered different opportunities for the Electoral Commission, and as such, social media has become an indispensable platform for INEC’s activities.