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By Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has vowed to defend its votes at every stage of the 2027 general election, warning against attempts to manipulate results as it mobilises polling and collation agents nationwide.
The party also expressed confidence that its presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, would win the presidential election and be inaugurated on May 29, 2027.
It said it was determined to prevent a recurrence of the problems it claimed affected its presidential candidate in the 2023 election, insisting that Nigerians must go beyond casting their ballots to ensuring that their votes are counted and reflected in the final results.
The NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Zuweghe, gave the warning at a press briefing in Abuja on Saturday, declaring that the party was confident of winning the presidential election and other elective positions but would not leave the protection of its votes to chance.
“Voting alone is not it. Let us vote and protect our votes and make sure that our votes get to the point where they will be counted for us,” he said.
Zuweghe said the party had activated its state structures and was already organising its election-day operations, including the selection of polling and collation agents, ahead of the elections.
“One of the things that affected our presidential candidate in 2023 was agents’ issues. And so you have to learn from the past and improve on it,” he said.
The NDC chairman explained that the party was working ahead of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) formal request for the submission of agents, with candidates and stakeholders expected to coordinate the exercise across constituencies.
He added that governorship and State House of Assembly candidates would work with party stakeholders in their areas, while senatorial and House of Representatives candidates would coordinate the selection of agents for their respective constituencies.
Zuweghe warned, however, that protecting the integrity of the election would require the active participation of voters, urging Nigerians not to abandon the process after casting their ballots.
He recounted the experience of a supporter who reportedly provided food and water for voters during the 2023 election but later questioned how the results were changed despite the effort.
He said the party would pursue vote protection within the law, warning those who might seek to undermine the electoral process that the NDC was prepared to defend its mandate.
“We have resolved that our victory must be announced by presiding officers, not judges or those who cannot do simple arithmetic of addition and subtraction,” he said.
The NDC chairman also called on security and intelligence agencies to remain non-partisan before, during and after the elections, urging President Bola Tinubu to place the country’s interests above personal political ambition.
Zuweghe also dismissed suggestions that the NDC was unprepared for the 2027 elections, insisting that the party had candidates for all elective positions, including the presidency, Senate, House of Representatives, governorships and State Houses of Assembly.
He described reports questioning the party’s commitment to the elections as propaganda, saying its candidates were consulting and engaging voters across the country.
The chairman said the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) would meet on October 20 to ratify key decisions ahead of the elections, including plans for the inauguration of its Presidential Campaign Council and the presentation of certificates of return to its candidates.
He explained that the party was consulting Obi and his running mate, Kwankwaso, on the composition of the campaign council to ensure that key appointments reflected their input and experience.
“It is better to get it right. It is a sensitive election that we are going into, and we must check characters,” he said.
