By Ugochukwu Alaribe
UMUAHIA — A pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) group, Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria (RHGN), has urged the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to clarify plans for independently transmitting polling-unit election results during the 2027 general elections.
The group warned against what it described as an attempt to establish a parallel electoral results system, saying such an arrangement could create confusion over the authority of official election results.
Deputy National Leader, South-East, of RHGN, Mazi Franklin Ngoforo, raised the concern while briefing journalists in Umuahia, Abia State.
His reaction followed an interview Obi granted Arise News on September 10, 2026, during which the NDC presidential candidate said his team would deploy a system to independently receive results from polling units at its situation room alongside transmission to the designated Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) platform.
Obi said the proposed arrangement was intended to enable his team to independently monitor results and ensure that figures announced were consistent with those recorded at polling units.
He also rejected the suggestion that the plan amounted to establishing a parallel INEC, saying it was intended to provide an independent means of monitoring the electoral process.
However, Ngoforo said the proposal required clarification, particularly on who would operate the additional system, its legal basis and the role it would play in the electoral process.
He also referred to an earlier statement attributed to Professor Pat Utomi concerning an independent election-results transmission arrangement ahead of the 2027 elections, saying the two developments warranted public scrutiny.
Ngoforo challenged the NDC to explain whether the proposed system was intended solely as a transparency and monitoring mechanism or as an alternative channel for establishing election results.
He argued that the conduct and management of elections remained within the constitutional mandate of INEC.
“The Electoral Act 2026 goes further by specifically prescribing how election results are to be transmitted and managed,” he said.
Under Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act 2026, presiding officers are required to electronically transmit polling-unit results to the IReV portal after the prescribed Form EC8A has been completed and signed. The law also provides for a fallback where electronic transmission fails, with the signed Form EC8A remaining the primary source for collation and declaration.
Ngoforo said the statutory framework should be respected by all political parties and candidates, while acknowledging the right of stakeholders to demand transparent elections and effective monitoring.
“Every Nigerian wants credible elections. Every Nigerian wants his vote to count. But the answer cannot be to create rival electoral authorities,” he said.
He called on the Department of State Services, Nigeria Police Force, Office of the National Security Adviser and other relevant agencies to seek clarification from the NDC and Obi on the proposed independent transmission arrangement.
According to him, the agencies should determine the nature and purpose of any system being developed and ensure that political parties operate within the existing constitutional and statutory framework.
Ngoforo also warned against any action that could contribute to confusion or violence during the 2027 electoral process.
“We must not wait until Nigeria is on fire before we begin asking questions,” he said.
The RHGN official urged political parties and candidates to channel their efforts towards strengthening confidence in the electoral process rather than creating competing systems that could, in his view, generate uncertainty over the status of election results.
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