The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election, Peter Obi, has revealed plans to independently transmit results from polling units to his campaign situation room as part of measures to protect votes during the election.
Obi disclosed this in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday, saying the system would allow his team to receive, monitor and verify results from polling units as they are recorded.
The former Anambra State governor said the arrangement would complement the official result transmission process of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), rather than replace it.
He explained that his team would ensure that results recorded at polling units were transmitted through an additional channel to its situation room while also being sent through the designated INEC platform.
“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, Obi disagreed, saying the objective was 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 stated.
Obi said other organisations could adopt similar mechanisms to independently monitor the electoral process, stressing that the aim was 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.
The NDC candidate maintained that a transparent electoral process was achievable, citing Ghana and other countries as examples.
He also described the 2027 presidential election as a contest involving Nigerians and the government, rather than one centred solely on political parties.
