What NDC will do to protect votes in 2027 – Peter Obi’s ally

Aisha Yesufu, an ally of the presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress, (NDC), Peter Obi, says the opposition will deploy a nationwide network of election agents in 2027 to monitor votes from polling units through the collation process to the final declaration in Abuja.

Mrs Yesufu said the strategy was informed by lessons from the 2023 presidential election, which she said showed that opposition supporters could not afford to rely solely on electoral institutions to protect their votes.

She spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.

“We have our own alternative means of ensuring that we are protected,” Mrs Yesufu said.

She said supporters would monitor election materials and results at every stage, from the polling unit to the ward and local government collation centres, state level and ultimately Abuja.

“There is no time that any ballot paper, any ballot box, result sheet or the individual will be out of our sight,” she said.

According to her, the movement would deploy people and resources to ensure that election materials are not diverted or altered during the collation process.

“We will follow them using bikes, we will follow them using boats, we will follow them by air,” she said, adding that supporters would continue monitoring the process until the results were entered and declared.

Mrs Yesufu said the objective was to ensure that the result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reflected the votes cast at the polling units.

“We will ensure that no vote is changed from where it is voted and entered in to the place where the INEC chairman declares the final result,” she said.

‘We must take over every polling unit’

Ms Yesufu said the focus of the 2027 campaign would extend beyond rallies to the polling units, where she said the opposition intended to have a strong presence on election day.

“It’s not going to be at the rallies only. For me, my own is to be at the streets at every polling unit, that we must take over every polling unit and ensure that every vote is protected,” she said.

She said groups were already being organised around polling units as part of the preparation.

“At every polling unit, right, we have a council. We have at least nothing less than 20, 50, 100 depending on the polling units already mapping that out,” she said.

She said the structure would bring together supporters who were committed to participating in the election and protecting the votes cast for their candidates.

Mrs Yesufu said the experience of the 2023 election had reinforced the need for voters and political groups to take responsibility for protecting their ballots.

“The lesson from 2023 is that there’s no place of trusting the system or thinking that the institutions are going to do the right thing,” she said.

Mr Obi, the NDC presidential candidate, made a similar appeal to his supporters earlier in the week, urging them to defend their votes from the polling unit through to the final declaration of results.

‘We believe Obi won 2023’

Mrs Yesufu said she remained among those who believed that Mr Obi won the 2023 presidential election, despite the declaration of President Bola Tinubu as winner by INEC and the subsequent rejection of the challenge by the courts.

Mr Obi finished third in the 2023 election with 6.1 million votes, behind Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, who scored 6.9 million, and Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, who won with 8.7 million votes.

Mr Obi and his supporters continue to claim that he won the election even though they could not prove how the former Anambra governor won the election.

Benue blockade

Mrs Yesufu also defended Mr Obi following the obstruction of his convoy in Benue State on Tuesday.

Mr Obi was travelling to Yelwata to commiserate with families affected by the 2025 attacks when his convoy was stopped by thugs on the Makurdi-Gboko federal highway. The police later said 46 suspects had been arrested in connection with the incident.

The Benue State Government denied involvement in the incident and said it was unaware of Mr Obi’s visit. The state government also said the visit should have been coordinated with relevant authorities.

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Mrs Yesufu described Mr Obi as one of the most courageous politicians in Nigeria and said his decision not to force his way through the blockade was strategic.

“You need to understand something. There is a place where someone has to be strategic. You have a lot of things to do,” she said.

She said the incident reinforced the need for the opposition to remain organised as it prepares for the 2027 election.

The comments come as political parties and their candidates intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the NDC placing greater emphasis on defending votes at polling units and through the results collation process.