By Uche Onuorah
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic
Congress (NDC), has declared that he is prepared to risk his life to protect
his vote in the 2027 general election.
Obi urged Nigerians to resist intimidation at polling
stations, saying voters must not allow fear or threats to determine the outcome
of the election.
He made the declaration on Thursday at a town hall meeting
in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he also warned the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) against altering election results.
“No one will scare us anymore at the polling station. If you
go to any polling booth today, you will see the most officials, and there will
be five of them,” Obi said.
He argued that the number of voters at most polling units
would make it difficult for a small number of officials to intimidate the
electorate.
“On average, there are 40 to 50 voters. Five people can’t
scare or control 50 people. This time, we will all save our country together,”
he said.
Obi said the determination to resist intimidation extended
to himself, adding: “Someone said, ‘We are ready to die.’ Let me tell you, I’m
ready to die too.”
He also raised concerns about the electronic transmission of
election results through the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) system, saying efforts
could be made to interfere with the process during the 2027 election.
“We will make sure there is good communication so that this
kind of intimidation doesn’t happen. Yes, they will attempt to influence the
IReV. But let me tell you, this time it won’t be easy. There will be a lot of
IReVs this time,” he said.
The NDC candidate said alternative network arrangements
would also be made available where connectivity problems affected the
electronic process.
“If there’s a problem with the network, we’ll provide them
with a new one that doesn’t have the problem,” Obi said.
He blamed the failure to address such technical problems in
the past for contributing to the difficulties Nigerians were facing, warning
that allowing similar glitches to persist could have serious consequences.
“By letting them keep going, that glitch will mess up our
lives. That is what we are suffering today,” he said.
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