2027: Obi Supporters Won’t Trust INEC With Their Votes — Aisha Yesufu

Political activist and member of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Aisha Yesufu, has said supporters of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will not rely solely on electoral institutions to protect their votes in the 2027 presidential election.

Yesufu said Obi supporters would establish strong structures at polling units and deploy representatives to monitor voting, counting and the movement of result sheets through the various stages of collation, up to the final declaration in Abuja.

She made the remarks during an interview on Arise News, where she discussed Obi’s chances in the 2027 presidential election, the lessons from the 2023 election and the strategy she believes his supporters should adopt ahead of the next poll.

According to Yesufu, the experience of 2023 showed the need for voters and political organisations to take a more active role in monitoring the electoral process after ballots have been cast.

“Yes, we are going to have people at every polling unit to protect the votes,” she said.

She explained that the proposed structure would monitor results from the polling unit through the ward, local government and state collation levels until the final collation in Abuja.

“No result sheet will leave our sight. We will follow the results from the polling units all the way to Abuja,” Yesufu said.

She said the objective was to ensure that the results eventually declared accurately reflected the votes cast by Nigerians.

Yesufu further said she had “zero trust” in INEC, security agencies and the judiciary, arguing that voters could not afford to leave the protection of their votes entirely to public institutions.

Her comments highlight the emphasis she intends to place on grassroots mobilisation and vote protection ahead of the 2027 election.

Rather than focusing exclusively on large campaign rallies, Yesufu said supporters should build structures at the grassroots and prepare people to monitor the electoral process at their respective polling units.

She had earlier explained that Nigerians should not expect to see her travelling around the country with Obi in the same manner she did during the 2023 campaign.

According to her, her role in the previous election was largely focused on helping to mobilise support for Obi and counter perceptions that his candidacy was limited to a particular ethnic or religious group.

For the 2027 election, she said her priority would be to help establish structures capable of mobilising voters and ensuring that votes cast for Obi are properly counted and protected.

Yesufu has urged supporters to organise themselves before election day and understand the procedures for voting, counting and result collation.

She believes that monitoring should continue beyond the polling unit, with supporters following the results through the ward, local government and state collation centres.

Her position comes amid continuing debate over electoral transparency, result management and voter confidence in INEC ahead of the 2027 general election.

INEC remains legally responsible for conducting elections and managing the official collation and declaration of results, while political parties and their accredited agents are entitled to observe proceedings and raise objections through established legal channels.

Yesufu’s call for greater vigilance is therefore centred on encouraging supporters to observe the process closely and ensure that discrepancies are documented and challenged through lawful mechanisms.

She also spoke about the recent incident in Benue State, where Obi’s movement was reportedly obstructed while he was attempting to reach the Yelwata area.

Yesufu defended Obi’s decision not to engage those who reportedly blocked his convoy, arguing that he had other engagements to attend and should not allow people she described as “miscreants” to dictate his movements.

The incident generated political reactions, particularly over the circumstances surrounding Obi’s reported inability to proceed to the area.

Yesufu also expressed confidence in Peter Obi’s chances in the 2027 presidential election, arguing that economic hardship and insecurity would be important factors in determining how Nigerians vote.

She criticised the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing it as a “colossal failure” and arguing that improvements claimed in some macroeconomic indicators had not translated sufficiently into better living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.

According to Yesufu, Nigerians remain concerned about rising living costs, insecurity and declining purchasing power, adding that economic policies should ultimately be judged by their effect on households and businesses.

She also argued that voters were increasingly interested in competence, character and capacity, rather than allowing religious or ethnic considerations to determine their choices.

Yesufu expressed confidence that Obi could perform strongly across the country and specifically said she expected him to retain significant support in Lagos during the 2027 election.

Her comments come as opposition parties continue preparations for the 2027 presidential contest.

Obi is the NDC presidential candidate, while Atiku Abubakar is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Both opposition figures have continued to pursue their respective political platforms amid discussions about possible cooperation among opposition parties.

Obi has also said recently that any agreement involving opposition presidential candidates would ultimately have to be negotiated by the political parties rather than by individual candidates alone.

The opposition landscape therefore remains fluid, with discussions about alliances, cooperation and the possibility of a common strategy continuing ahead of the 2027 election.

For Yesufu, however, political alliances are only one aspect of the challenge facing opposition parties.

She said the immediate priority should be ensuring that supporters are organised at the grassroots and prepared to participate actively in protecting their votes on election day.

The activist, who said she was not seeking elective office, said her focus would remain on mobilising supporters for the 2027 presidential election and helping to ensure that votes cast for Obi are properly accounted for.

She believes the experience of the 2023 election demonstrated that campaign popularity must be matched by effective election-day organisation.

Her strategy therefore places greater responsibility on supporters to understand the electoral process, remain present during counting, verify result entries and follow the lawful collation process.

As preparations for the 2027 general election intensify, Yesufu’s comments are likely to add to the debate over voter mobilisation, electoral credibility, result transmission and the capacity of political parties to protect their votes.

For the activist, winning support at campaign rallies is only part of the electoral contest. The greater challenge, she argues, is ensuring that every vote cast is counted, correctly recorded and followed through the collation process.

2027: Obi Supporters Won’t Trust INEC With Their Votes — Aisha Yesufu