{"id":125495,"date":"2026-02-10T02:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T01:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=125495"},"modified":"2026-02-10T02:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T01:45:15","slug":"obi-joins-occupy-nassembly-protest-over-election-transmission-of-election-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/obi-joins-occupy-nassembly-protest-over-election-transmission-of-election-results\/","title":{"rendered":"Obi Joins \u2018Occupy N\u2019Assembly\u2019 Protest Over Election Transmission of Election Results"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Tracy Moses<\/div>\n
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Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, on Monday joined scores of protesters at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, to oppose the Senate\u2019s decision to remove the phrase \u201creal-time\u201d from provisions on electronic transmission of election results in the proposed Electoral Act amendment.<\/div>\n
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The protest, staged under the banner \u201cOccupy the National Assembly,\u201d was organised by the Obidient Movement in collaboration with pro-democracy and civil society groups. The demonstrators accused lawmakers of deliberately weakening electoral safeguards ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/div>\n
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The agitation followed the Senate\u2019s passage last week of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Amendment Bill, 2026, which has since generated controversy over the deletion of \u201creal-time\u201d from sections dealing with electronic transmission of results. Critics argue that the omission could open loopholes for post-election manipulation.<\/div>\n
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Although the Senate has maintained that electronic transmission of results was not entirely removed from the bill, protesters insisted that the absence of \u201creal-time electronic transmission\u201d undermines transparency and could be exploited to tamper with election outcomes.<\/div>\n
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Singing protest songs and displaying placards with inscriptions such as \u201cOur Votes Must Count,\u201d \u201cNo to Electoral Robbery,\u201d and \u201cProtect Democracy,\u201d the protesters marched from the Federal Secretariat towards the National Assembly.<\/div>\n
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However, security operatives drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) blocked access to the complex, forcing the demonstrators to stage their protest outside the main gate.<\/div>\n
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Addressing journalists at the protest ground, Obi decried what he described as a gradual rollback of democratic gains in the country, stressing that credible elections are central to national unity, stability and development.<\/div>\n
\u201cWe must dismantle this criminality and prove that Nigeria can stand as a beacon of hope in Africa,\u201d Obi said.<\/div>\n
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His presence further energised the crowd, many of whom view him as a leading figure of the youth-driven political movement that disrupted Nigeria\u2019s traditional political order during the 2023 general elections.<\/div>\n
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Also speaking, National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, said the protest would continue until the National Assembly reinstates real-time electronic transmission of results in the amended law.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWithout electronic transmission of results, there can be no credible election. Our electoral process must be transparent,\u201d Tanko said.<\/div>\n
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He recalled that past elections were often marred by manipulation at the collation stage, adding that electronic transmission was introduced as part of reforms following the 2011 and 2015 elections to curb such abuses.<\/div>\n
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Nigeria\u2019s push for electoral reforms intensified after the widely criticised 2007 general elections, leading to innovations such as the introduction of card readers in 2015 and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in 2022, developments that were widely applauded despite implementation challenges.<\/div>\n
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Civil society organisations had also strongly advocated electronic transmission of results during debates preceding the passage of the 2022 Electoral Act, arguing that it would minimise human interference and restore public confidence in the electoral process.<\/div>\n
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Another speaker at the protest, activist Randy Peters, accused the political elite of betraying democratic ideals and vowed that demonstrators would continue to occupy the National Assembly until their demands are met.<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe will be back here tomorrow and the day after until the Senate does the right thing. The June 12 struggle was about free and fair elections, and this government claimed to support that cause,\u201d Peters said.<\/div>\n
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Invoking the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, widely regarded as Nigeria\u2019s freest poll, Peters questioned why elected leaders would resist reforms designed to guarantee credible elections.<\/div>\n
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\u201cAre democrats now afraid of losing elections? In 2027, our votes must count. That is the most important thing,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n
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