NIGERIA: Peter Obi Joins Protesters At National Assembly, Demands Restoration of Real-Time Electronic Transmission Of Election Results

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi on Monday led hundreds of demonstrators in a protest at the entrance of the National Assembly Complex in Abuja against the Senate’s recent amendment to the Electoral Act, which removed the phrase “real-time” from provisions on electronic transmission of election results.

The demonstration, tagged “Occupy the National Assembly,” was organised by members of the Obidient Movement and pro-democracy activists who accused the lawmakers of deliberately weakening electoral safeguards ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Last week, the Senate passed the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill, 2026, through third reading. Critics argue that deleting “real-time” creates loopholes for manipulation and post-poll interference, even though the Senate has clarified that it did not reject electronic transmission entirely.

Protesters, chanting solidarity songs and waving placards with messages such as “Our votes must count,” “No to electoral robbery,” and “Protect democracy now,” marched from the Federal Secretariat to the National Assembly gates.

A heavy deployment of security personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps barricaded the main entrance, preventing the crowd from accessing the complex and forcing the rally to proceed outside the gates.

Addressing journalists at the protest ground, Obi strongly condemned what he described as a steady erosion of Nigeria’s democratic gains and warned that credible elections remain essential for national stability and progress.

“We must dismantle this criminality and prove that we are now a nation that shows light in Africa,” he said.

He urged the National Assembly to enact laws mandating electronic transmission of results, adding, “The danger was clear. We have suffered the danger. That’s what we have suffered before. We don’t want any glitch again. This is finished. We want things to come back to normal. No more glitch.”

The former Anambra State governor’s presence energised the crowd, many of whom see him as a key figure in the youth-led political movement that emerged prominently during the 2023 elections.

National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, vowed that the agitation would persist until real-time electronic transmission is explicitly restored. “If there is no electronic transmission of results, there will be no election. Our elections must be credible,” he declared, pointing to past manual interference during result collation as a problem the reform was intended to solve.

Activist Randy Peters, who also addressed the gathering, accused the political class of betraying democratic ideals and invoked the spirit of the June 12, 1993 election, widely regarded as Nigeria’s freest and fairest poll.

“Tomorrow, we will be back here until the Senate does the right thing. Do we have Democrats who are afraid of losing elections? In 2027, our votes must count. The most important thing is that our votes must count. Tomorrow, they will meet us here again,” he said.

The protest reflects growing civil society concern over electoral reforms, building on earlier gains such as the introduction of card readers in 2015 and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in 2022, which were meant to enhance transparency but faced implementation hurdles.

Demonstrators have pledged to return daily until their demand for unambiguous real-time el

ectronic transmission is met.