I’m Ready To Die Protecting My Votes In 2027, There Will Be Many IReVs — Peter Obi Declares In Port Harcourt

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has declared that he is ready to lose his life while protecting his votes in the 2027 general election.

Obi stated this at a town hall meeting tagged “Obi Talks Nigeria” in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, on Thursday.

The former Anambra governor charged Nigerians to prevent a repeat of the “irregularities” witnessed during the 2023 general election when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to upload results electronically due to alleged failure of IReV.

Obi, who ran under Labour Party in 2023, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had rejected President Bola Tinubu’s victory and headed to court, but Tinubu’s election was upheld.

Speaking at the event, Obi said those plotting to manipulate the 2027 election would fail.

“Nobody will intimidate us again at the polling booth. 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,” he said.

“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 said his camp would ensure coordination to prevent intimidation and bypass any attempt to manipulate IReV.

“Yes, they will try to manipulate the IReV. But let me tell you, it will not be easy this time. There will be so many IReVs this time. If there is a network glitch, we will give them another one that has no glitch. By allowing them to continue, that glitch will glitch our lives. That is what we are suffering today,” Obi added.

On his part, his running mate and NDC Vice Presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, appealed to voters to avoid past mistakes, saying the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will lose despite controlling over 30 states.

“Jonathan was the president, the sitting president lost the election. I’ve given you an example, especially those who think because they have over 30 governors, they cannot lose the election. That was a very big mistake,” Kwankwaso said.