Not the Outcome – Obi Reveals Primary Concern Ahead of 2027 Election
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has said his main concern ahead of the 2027 general election is not whether he wins, but whether Nigerians will be able to protect their votes.
Obi made the statement during a thank-you tour of Kogi East Senatorial District in support of the NDC’s senatorial candidate for the district, Peter Ameh.
The former Anambra State governor said the credibility of the election and the ability of voters to ensure that their choices are reflected in the final results were more important to him than the outcome.
“I am not worried about what the outcome of the 2027 general election will be. What worries me is the people and how they will protect their votes on election day,” Obi stated.
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders to take steps to ensure that the 2027 election is conducted in a free, fair, transparent and credible manner.
Obi insisted that every vote cast by Nigerians must be properly recorded and counted, warning against any attempt to manipulate the electoral process for the benefit of a political party or candidate.
“The votes of the people must be counted,” he admonished.
The NDC candidate also urged Nigerians to take an active role in protecting the integrity of the election and ensure that the next set of leaders are chosen according to their ability to address the country’s challenges.
He said voters should look beyond political affiliations and assess candidates based on their competence, capacity, character, compassion and commitment to national development.
“They must do it based on competence, capacity, character, compassion and commitment to turning Nigeria around,” Obi said.
Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election under the Labour Party, said Nigeria needed leadership capable of changing the direction of the country and addressing the hardship facing citizens.
“There is hunger and poverty in the land, and that is why I came to see what we can do to ameliorate the suffering of our people,” he said.
He also called for a more issue-based campaign ahead of the 2027 election, urging presidential candidates to move beyond political rallies and directly engage Nigerians on the problems affecting their communities.
“What is most important is that we want the campaign for the general election to be issue-based. We want all candidates to go round Nigeria and ask questions about the challenges confronting the people,” he said.
According to Obi, politicians should not wait until election campaigns to hear from Nigerians, but should regularly visit communities and understand the problems confronting ordinary citizens.
“We want to change the dynamics where people go around and ask Nigerians about their problems. When I was coming to Kogi State today (yesterday), I stopped at Obolafo-Otukpa Junction and asked some of our elderly people what their challenges were. This is what I want other presidential candidates to also be doing,” he said.
He said his ongoing visits across the country were aimed at understanding the situation on the ground and finding ways to improve governance.
“I am moving around Nigeria to see how we can do the right thing. I want the next set of governance to focus on how our children will be in school, how our environment will be secured, and how our people can earn a decent living,” Obi said.
He further charged voters in Kogi East and other parts of the country to take responsibility for protecting their ballots on election day.
“My charge to the people here is that they must ensure that there is a free, fair and credible election. This time round, our votes must count. Nigerians must elect those who will lead them,” he said.
Speaking at the “Obi Talks Nigeria” meeting, he said voters should no longer allow themselves to be intimidated at polling units or prevented from ensuring that their ballots are properly counted.
“Nobody will intimidate us again at the polling booths,” Obi said.
He argued that voters outnumber electoral officials and security personnel at polling units and should therefore collectively insist on the protection of their votes.
The NDC presidential candidate also raised concerns about possible attempts to manipulate the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV), saying his supporters would be prepared to respond to any technical or other challenges that could affect the electronic transmission of results.
“There will be so many IReVs this time. This time around, if there is a network glitch, we will give them another one that has no glitch,” he said.
Obi said Nigerians could not afford to allow electoral irregularities to continue while the country was already dealing with widespread economic and social difficulties.
“This time all of us will rescue our country. Somebody said, ‘we are ready to die.’ Let me tell you, I’m ready to die too,” he declared.
Meanwhile, the NDC’s Kogi East senatorial candidate, Ameh, said the district had the resources needed to become more prosperous but had continued to suffer from poor infrastructure and inadequate public services.
Ameh pointed to Kogi East’s fertile land and mineral resources, arguing that the area’s natural wealth should translate into better living conditions for its residents.
“Kogi East is really blessed. We should not have decayed infrastructure access to Enjema properly, despite over 200 trucks leaving the coal site daily,” he said.
He described the situation as painful but maintained that effective representation could help bring attention to the challenges facing the communities.
“It is painful that we find ourselves in this deplorable state, but we can do something about it. We can have representatives in the legislature who will be at the National Assembly to speak for the people and raise the challenges confronting our communities,” Ameh said.
He also criticised the condition of primary healthcare services across Kogi State, saying residents in the state’s nine local government areas were being poorly served.
“Our primary healthcare system here in Kogi is dead across the nine local government areas. It is time for us to look at the track records of the candidates contesting elections and assess who can genuinely represent the people at the National Assembly,” he said.
Ameh said his political ambition was secondary to the interests of the people he hoped to represent.
“For me, I have already buried my personal interest in ensuring that the interests of the people become our interest. The people must come first,” he said.
