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i have read with special interest reports and commentaries on the recent theory propounded by Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and his team on how they intend to protect their votes during the forthcoming 2027 elections.
Obi had said that he and his team have plans to independently transmit results from polling units to his campaign situation room as part of measures to protect votes during the forthcoming elections.
Obi first disclosed this plan in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday, where he also said the system would allow his team “to receive, monitor and verify results from polling units as they are recorded.”
As would be expected, this initiative has received the attention of Obi’s supporters and that of his opponents.
Considering the adversarial tendency of today’s Nigerian politics, it is not surprising that some of Obi’s opponents view the initiative with suspicion, instead of acknowledging it’s obvious benefits.
Even the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the electoral umpire, who was accused by the opposition in 2023 elections of announcing results different from what obtained at the polling booths, may soon join Obi’s opponents to view this initiative with suspicion.
Preempting this kind of response, Obi, a presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, whose supporters still insist he won the election but was wrongly announced the third by INEC, explained that “the arrangement would complement the official result transmission process of the Independent National Electoral Commission, rather than replace it.”
The plan, Obi explained, is that his team would ensure results recorded at polling units are transmitted through an additional channel to its situation room while also being sent through the designated INEC platform.
As he puts it: “We must make sure that at every polling unit the votes are counted, the votes are recorded properly, the votes are transmitted properly.
“And we will have even a dual transmission so that, as it’s going to the proper designated INEC portal, it’s also being transmitted where the people can see it,” Obi said.
Asked whether the plan amounted to creating a parallel result-transmission system, according to the NDC presidential candidate, the objective is simply to independently monitor what happens at every polling unit.
“All we are saying is that, this time around, we will make sure that, in every polling unit, we must have a system that transmits to our own situation room the correct results,” he said.
Taking a fair view of the proposed initiative, I am of the view that it will help clear everybody’s doubt.
So, INEC, in my opinion, should easily accept this type of initiative for it will help make it’s work easier. If all the actors in our elections can independently confirm that the result INEC announced tallies with what they got, and if the total result does not exceed the number of registered voters who voted, no one will successfully accuse INEC of bias.
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So, for as long as the initiative will not amount to replacement of INEC’s system but will rather complement it, I expect INEC and all the good people in Nigeria to support it
Even Obi himself has said other organisations could adopt similar mechanisms to independently monitor the electoral process, stressing that the aim will be to ensure that results announced at the end of the process could be traced to figures recorded at polling units.
“And I’m sure there are so many other agencies that intend to do the same thing. So, we’re not going to have a situation where somebody pronounces something that didn’t emanate from the polling unit. Our task is to make sure that the right things are done,” he said.
Citing Ghana and other countries as references, the NDC candidate maintained that a transparent electoral process was achievable and that this simple initiative will help in that direction.
He also described the 2027 presidential election as a contest involving Nigerians and the government, rather than one centred solely on political parties.
This argument, to me, hit at the very head of the simple issue that have, since 2023, pitted a lot of Nigerians against their government.
I am talking about Nigerians who deeply believe that the result announced by INEC at the end of 2023 elections, the same result that declared President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner, was not the correct result. As a result of this, they continue to see the President as a man that snatched the leadership of the country and not the President they gave their mandate.
No one needs to be told that this kind of feeling is not healthy and will never allow for the kind of trust true nation-building requires.
To avoid a repeat of this unfortunate situation, every initiative that will help remove doubt must be supported by all peace loving Nigerians.
President Tinubu and his ruling party are hereby advised not to view this initiative as another attack from an opponent but to see the advantages that will accrue to all if all Nigerians are made to truly agree that the results INEC announced at the end of 2027 elections are true or at least are true reflections of what happened at the polling boots.
• Samuel Hezekiah Egburonu Esq, is a lawyer, veteran journalist, literary scholar and current affairs analyst
