Labour Party flagbearer during the 2023 Presidential Elections and former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, has vowed to resist anyone who attempts to engage in electoral malpractice and rig the upcoming 2027 Nigerian elections

Obi made this statement at an event where he announced his defection from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Enugu State on Wednesday afternoon.

Following the 2023 Presidential Elections, which saw Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu secure a victory, members of opposition parties, including the Labour Party, alleged that the election was marred by widespread electoral malpractice and rigging.

While addressing the audience in Enugu State on Wednesday, Obi vowed not to allow history to repeat itself.
“We have all watched those who benefited from our democracy, sometimes now become accessories to destroying our democracy, either through coercion and gangsterism against the opposition. We cannot allow this to happen. We would resist it.

“I find it disappointing that people who benefited our democracy be part of celebrating electoral fraud publicly. And we are saying that those who are planning to rig elections in Nigeria come 2027, we would resist it by every means lawful,” Obi said.

The former Labour Party Presidential Candidate also faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for failing to uphold electoral integrity, shun electoral vices and permitting unqualified candidates to contest elections.

“We are urging this to happen because we have weak institutions like INEC, which were urging them in the coming election. We must do whatever it is to follow rules and regulations, starting by educational qualification for eligibility to contest for any elections. And that’s why I am here today to say thank you, thank you. We can no longer be where they are asking whether this person went to school or not.

“We have one year now to determine who went and didn’t go, we had they attended and when they left. We don’t want it, something we got after election, pre-election, to verify everybody who wants to contest the election for Nigeria. And we must follow that,” Obi added.