‘We Are Going to Have Dual Transmission’ — Obi Unveils 2027 Election Monitoring Plan

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has announced plans to deploy an independent system that would transmit election results from every polling unit to his team’s situation room during the 2027 presidential election.

Obi disclosed this during an interview with ARISE News on Thursday, saying the arrangement would operate alongside the official result-transmission system of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to him, the objective is to ensure that votes are properly counted, recorded and transmitted from the polling units, while giving his team an independent means of verifying the results.

“We must make sure that at every polling unit, the votes are counted, the votes are recorded properly, the votes are transmitted properly. And we will have even a dual transmission, so that as it’s going to the proper designated INEC portal, it’s also being transmitted where the people can see it,” Obi said.

The former Anambra State governor said his team would ensure that each polling unit has a system capable of transmitting the results recorded at the location directly to its situation room.

“All we are saying is that this time around, we will make sure that in every polling unit, we must have a system that transmits to our own situation room the correct results,” he said.

Obi stressed that the proposal was intended to strengthen transparency and prevent discrepancies between results recorded at polling units and figures eventually announced at higher levels.

He said the system would make it more difficult for election results to be announced that did not originate from the polling units where the votes were cast.

“And I’m sure there’s so many other agencies that intend to do the same thing. So we’re not going to have a situation where somebody just pronounces something that didn’t emanate from the polling unit,” Obi said.

The NDC candidate was also asked whether his proposal amounted to establishing a parallel result-transmission system outside the official INEC process.

Obi rejected that interpretation, explaining that his proposed system would serve as an independent monitoring and verification mechanism rather than replace INEC’s official process.

He maintained that the priority was ensuring that the results generated at polling units were properly documented and could be independently verified.

The proposal comes as political parties and other stakeholders intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections, with electronic transmission and the credibility of polling-unit results expected to remain major issues in the electoral debate.

Obi argued that Nigeria could conduct elections in a manner that is free, transparent and credible, pointing to other countries as examples.

“There’s nothing difficult in having a simple, free, transparent election. It happens in Ghana, it happens everywhere,” he said.

He also said other organisations could develop similar monitoring mechanisms, suggesting that independent verification of results should not be restricted to political parties.

His comments come amid renewed discussions about electoral reforms and how technology can be used to improve the credibility of Nigeria’s elections.

The former governor has repeatedly framed the 2027 election around the need to ensure that votes cast by Nigerians are accurately counted and protected.

During the same ARISE News interview, Obi also clarified his recent remark that he was prepared to “die” for his votes, saying the statement was symbolic and meant to demonstrate his determination to protect the mandate of voters rather than encourage violence.

He said his broader objective was to ensure that Nigerians could participate in an election where the votes recorded at polling units ultimately determine the results.

With the 2027 presidential contest already taking shape, Obi’s proposed dual-transmission system is likely to add to the growing debate over electronic result transmission, independent election monitoring and the role of political parties in verifying polling-unit results.

For Obi, the message is straightforward: the results declared at the end of an election must be traceable to what voters actually recorded at the polling units.