Former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has raised concerns over an alleged plot by the ruling All Progressives Congress to manipulate the 2027 general elections through the electronic results collation process.
Obi alleged that the plan involved deliberately rejecting election results from opposition strongholds by exploiting irregularities in the signing, stamping and dating of polling unit result sheets.
He made the allegation in a statement shared on the Peter Obi Grassroots Commentary X account on Friday, warning Nigerians and opposition parties to remain vigilant ahead of the elections.
According to the statement, the alleged scheme would involve bribing Independent National Electoral Commission ad hoc staff and members of the National Youth Service Corps to collaborate with polling officials in compromising the completion of Form EC8A, the official polling unit result sheet.
“Credible intelligence reports that the APC is plotting to manipulate the 2027 elections through the electronic collation process by deliberately rejecting results from opposition strongholds,” the statement alleged.
It further claimed that failure to properly sign, stamp and date the result sheets could create grounds for rejecting results during electronic collation and their subsequent upload to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
Obi urged opposition political parties to begin training their polling unit agents on the procedures for monitoring elections and identifying irregularities at every stage of the process.
“Opposition parties must urgently train their polling unit agents to monitor every stage of the electoral process. Ensure that every result form is properly completed, signed, stamped and dated. Document every irregularity and demand accountability,” the statement said.
The former Anambra State governor also called on Nigerians to take an active interest in protecting the integrity of the electoral process, insisting that every vote must be properly accounted for.
He warned against attempts to undermine the people’s mandate through alleged electoral manipulation.
“We must not allow the APC to undermine the people’s mandate through electoral manipulation,” the statement added.
Obi further urged citizens to remain observant around polling units during the elections, irrespective of whether they possess Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), while encouraging eligible voters to protect their votes through lawful monitoring and reporting of irregularities.
The allegations come ahead of the 2027 general elections, with INEC scheduled to conduct the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are fixed for February 6, 2027.
However, the allegations of a planned manipulation involving APC, INEC ad hoc staff and NYSC corps members were claims contained in the X statement and were not independently established in the statement.
