Obi threatens vote riggers as Presidency alleges hypocrisy

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has raised the alarm over a suspected scheme to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) into postponing the January 16, 2027, presidential election.

Relatedly, while the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, threatened that his camp will “rig those who rig” the 2027 elections, the Presidency accused him of playing to the gallery.

In a warning toPresident Bola Tinubu, ADC cautioned against using the Ebola public health situation to alter the established electoral timeline.

APC PCC’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, yesterday released a statement claiming they received information that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, would be summoned to the Presidential Villa to rewrite the election timetable behind closed doors.

The party warned the presidency against leveraging the ongoing Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak as an excuse to evade voters, pointing out that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) had indicated there was no valid medical justification to push back the poll.

“The election date belongs to Nigerians. It must not be rewritten behind closed doors at the Villa,” the council said.

It said Nigerians had endured three and a half years of relentless hardship, insisting that they must be allowed to judge the Tinubu administration at the ballot box on January 16.

“A government that has made life this difficult for Nigerians must not be allowed to postpone its day of judgment,” it said.

While acknowledging Ebola as a serious public health concern, the council said health professionals must be allowed to contain the disease, and INEC must take necessary steps to protect voters and election workers.

The council also put INEC, domestic observers and international election monitors on notice, demanding that any proposal to alter the timetable be made openly, backed by published health evidence and subjected to public scrutiny.
OBI made the threat yesterday at a town hall meeting of the NDC in Nasarawa State, where he addressed party supporters on electoral integrity and the need to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral system.

“Let me assure you: number one, in this coming election, we will rig those who rig it,” he said, assuring that, if elected president, he would ensure no one rigs elections in Nigeria.

The former governor of Anambra State said strengthening political parties and electoral processes would be central to preventing electoral malpractice in the country.

“Let me assure you, number two, if elected the president of Nigeria, nobody will rig the election in this country again,” he said.

Obi also called for stricter enforcement of educational requirements for candidates seeking elective offices, saying anyone contesting an election must have attended primary and secondary school.

He said anyone who forged educational certificates or failed to meet the requirements should face imprisonment.

“For you to contest the election, you must have attended a primary and a secondary school, and it will be clear,” he said. “Any high-ranking official, anybody who is involved with the election, under my watch, that rigs the election, will go to jail.”

SENIOR Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a post on X yesterday, blasted Obi, stating that he always says what he does not practise.

Onanuga stated that Obi’s comments were misleading and aimed at deceiving Nigerians.

He asserted that while Obi was governor of Anambra, “he did not do what he is preaching” to the Tinubu administration.

According to him, Obi’s administration did not complete so many projects in its eight years before leaving office, and did not deliver on his promises to the people of Anambra.

He called on the former governor to stop playing to the gallery and face reality, claiming that President Tinubu was working hard to fix the economy.