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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.
This is just as it expressed confidence that Obi and Kwankwaso would win the presidential election and be inaugurated on May 29, 2027.
The party said it was determined to prevent a repeat of the problems it claimed affected its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, 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.
National chairman of the NDC, 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 federal constituencies.
However, Zuweghe warned 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.
“Assuming you have 100 voters in a place, and 70 voted for NDC and the other parties shared the remaining 30, if the 70 of you say, ‘This is our result; let us take it to the next point,’ who will now come and change it?” he asked.
He said the party would pursue vote protection within the law, while 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.
He cited former President Goodluck Jonathan as an example of a leader who chose the survival of the country over personal ambition.
Furthermore, Zuweghe 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, governorship 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, Rabiu Musa 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.
According to him, the party had already drawn up an organisational structure for the campaign council, but would not impose key appointments without consulting the candidates who would lead the electoral contest.
Zuweghe said the absence of a formally inaugurated campaign council did not mean the party had been inactive, noting that Obi and other candidates had been holding consultations and town hall meetings in different parts of the country.
He cited engagements in Rivers, Sokoto and Kaduna, with another scheduled for Enugu on October 15, as part of the party’s efforts to reach Nigerians ahead of the elections, while expressing confidence that Obi and Kwankwaso could appeal across religious, ethnic and regional lines as the best combination to lead the party into the 2027 contest.
“We are convinced that if it is the votes to win the 2027 general election, we have them,” he said.
“If it is the votes, who people like most, which presidential candidate our voters in this country like most, there is none that will go close to Peter Obi.”
However, Zuweghe accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of sponsoring negative publicity aimed at creating divisions within the opposition party, particularly over the relationship between its leadership and support groups backing the presidential ticket.
He insisted that the NDC’s National Working Committee, National Leader Senator Seriake Dickson and other party structures remained committed to Obi and Kwankwaso’s candidacies.
Going further, he defended Dickson against allegations that he was working against the party’s presidential candidates, arguing that the former Bayelsa State governor had demonstrated his commitment by providing the party’s platform for the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket rather than seeking the presidential nomination for himself.
On support groups, Zuweghe said all of them, including the Obidient Movement and Kwankwasiyya, are welcome but warned that they must operate within the party’s established structures and not assume the responsibilities of elected party officials.
“We are not against support groups as it were. We know their relevance. We need them. We love them. We see them as our helpmates. They are helping us, and we appreciate it,” he said.
He explained that the NDC had established a Directorate of Mobilisation under the National Organising Secretary’s office to register and coordinate support groups, adding that their contributions would be considered in the party’s mobilisation and election-day preparations.
However, he maintained that the submission of polling and collation agents to INEC remained the responsibility of the party, even though support groups could recommend members with proven organisational capacity.
The chairman urged support groups to work with the party’s national, state and local government structures, warning that the creation of parallel structures could generate unnecessary friction and weaken the opposition’s preparations.
He also cautioned party leaders against the arbitrary removal of elected party officials, insisting that the NDC constitution provided procedures for disciplinary action and the replacement of officers.
Party officials, he continued, were elected for a four-year tenure and could not be removed at the discretion of individual leaders or stakeholders acting outside the party’s constitutional provisions.
According to him, vacancies arising from death, resignation or disciplinary action must be handled through established procedures, with the National Working Committee exercising its responsibilities in accordance with the constitution.
“The National Working Committee will not back anything that is not constitutional,” he said, warning that arbitrary dissolution of party executive committees could expose the party to avoidable litigation.
The NDC chairman commended the judiciary for providing the legal platform for the party’s registration and praised INEC for what he described as its diligent performance, while urging the electoral commission to ensure a credible process in 2027.
He said the party was building an institution intended to outlive its present leadership, with particular emphasis on preparing young Nigerians to assume leadership responsibilities.
“The NDC has come to stay. The NDC and its candidates will win majority seats in this country,” he declared.
“Nigerians, we have brought your hope to you. Take this hope, own it, canvass for it, vote for it, defend it,” he said.
