Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said he is ready to risk his life to protect his votes in the 2027 presidential election, warning that voters will not allow intimidation at polling units.
Obi spoke on Thursday at the “Obi Talks Nigeria” town hall meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he also urged Nigerians to prevent a repeat of what he described as irregularities during the 2023 general election.
Obi Warns Against Polling Unit Intimidation
Obi said those planning to manipulate the 2027 election would face stronger resistance from voters.
“Nobody will intimidate us again at the polling booth,” he said, arguing that the number of voters at a polling unit is usually higher than the number of electoral officials.
“If you get to any polling booth today, the highest number of officials you see is five. The average number of voters is 40 to 50. There is no way five people will intimidate 50 people,” Obi said.
‘I’m Ready To Die Too’
Obi said his supporters would be organised to prevent intimidation during the election.
“Somebody said, ‘We are ready to die.’ Let me tell you, I’m ready to die too,” he said.
He added that there could be attempts to manipulate results through the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal, known as IReV.
“Yes, they will try to manipulate the IReV. But let me tell you, it will not be easy this time,” Obi said.
Obi Talks About IReV Back-Up
The NDC candidate also suggested that supporters would have alternative ways of preserving election results if technical problems affected the IReV platform.
“There will be so many IReVs this time. If there is a network glitch, we will give them another one that has no glitch,” he said.
Obi argued that allowing election-related problems to continue would have consequences beyond the polling process, saying, “That is what we are suffering today.”
Kwankwaso Urges Nigerians To ‘Get It Right’
Also speaking at the town hall, NDC vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso urged Nigerians to be more careful when choosing their leaders in 2027.
“I believe that Nigerians must not make mistakes again. This is the time to get it right,” Kwankwaso said.
He cited the 2015 presidential election, when then-incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan lost to Muhammadu Buhari, as an example that political control does not guarantee victory.
“Jonathan was the president, the sitting president lost the election,” Kwankwaso said, warning those who believe having more than 30 governors means they cannot lose an election. “That was a very big mistake,” he added.
