The Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to avoid a recurrence of the anomalies that plagued the 2023 general election by declaring that he is willing to die in order to defend votes in the 2027 election.
Speaking on Thursday at a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Obi urged supporters to be watchful and make sure their votes matter this time.
Citing purported issues with the IReV technology, Obi brought up the 2023 election in which the Independent National Electoral Commission was unable to electronically upload the results. The commission was accused by critics of manipulating results against opposition candidates by using the system breakdown as a pretext.
Obi, who ran under the Labour Party alongside former Peoples Democratic Party vice president Atiku Abubakar, disagreed with Tinubu’s win and contested it in court, but the outcome was maintained. The NDC candidate expressed optimism that those who intended to rig the 2027 election would not succeed.
He assured his supporters that no one would frighten them at the polls and asked them to use their right to vote without fear.
He emphasised a practical fact: if voters stand together, intimidation is impossible because polling booths usually have five officials overseeing between forty and fifty voters.
Obi emphasised that supporters’ cooperation will stop the manipulative strategies used in 2023.
He acknowledged that officials might try to meddle with the IReV once more, but he cautioned that if such network errors were allowed to continue, they would “glitch their lives” this time.
He pointed out that having several IReV systems would guarantee that technical issues could be promptly fixed, averting the kind of mayhem that had previously taken place.
Rabiu Kwankwaso, the NDC’s vice presidential candidate, urged voters to choose wisely this time, contending that Nigerians must choose experienced leaders who can handle the nation’s problems.
He cautioned that the country will suffer if it made the same mistakes twice.
He refuted assertions that controlling more than thirty states ensures electoral victory by reminding people that incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan lost his campaign for reelection.
Kwankwaso projected that the incumbent APC would still lose in 2027 even though it currently controls many states.