The 2027 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Development Congress, Peter Obi, has explained his recent statement that he was prepared to “die” for his votes, saying it was meant to express his determination to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
Obi made the clarification during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday.
The former Anambra State governor said the remark was made in response to a participant at a gathering in Port Harcourt who declared that Nigerians were ready to die while defending their votes.
According to Obi, his response was intended to encourage the participants and emphasise the importance of ensuring that votes cast during the 2027 election are properly counted and protected.
He said, “One of them said, ‘We are prepared to die this time to defend our votes.’ And I said to encourage them that I’m prepared to die with them. It’s symbolic.”
Obi added, “What we are saying is that we are prepared to ensure that our vote counts, and it must count.”
The statement had attracted reactions after the former governor told supporters in Port Harcourt that he was ready to die to protect his votes ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Explaining how his campaign would ensure that votes were accurately recorded, Obi said his team would deploy monitors to polling units and transmit the results to its situation room.
He said, “We must make sure that at every polling unit, the votes are counted, the votes are recorded properly, the votes are transmitted properly.”
Obi also disclosed plans for what he described as a dual transmission system, saying results would be sent through the appropriate Independent National Electoral Commission portal while also being relayed to his team’s situation room.
He rejected suggestions that such an arrangement could amount to creating a parallel electoral system.
“We’re not going to have a situation where somebody just pronounces something that didn’t emanate from the polling unit. Our task is to make sure that the right things are done,” he said.
The presidential hopeful further confirmed that his camp would maintain an independent record of results from polling units, insisting that the move was designed to promote transparency rather than conduct a parallel election.
Obi said a credible and transparent election was achievable, pointing to Ghana as an example.
“There’s nothing difficult in having a simple, free, transparent election. It happens in Ghana, across here. It happens everywhere,” he said.
He also characterised the 2027 presidential election as a contest between citizens and the government, rather than one centred primarily on political parties.
“This election, remember, is not about parties. It’s people versus the government,” Obi said.
