Senator Victor Umeh, who represents Anambra Central, has stood by Peter Obi’s warning that Nigerians will not sit back if their votes are twisted in 2027, calling the remark a call to duty rather than a threat of chaos.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, had told a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt that votes must count this time and that whoever refuses to count them will be counted. He said Nigerians will no longer tolerate efforts to undo their choice.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Morning Brief on Monday, Umeh said the comment was neither extreme nor inciting. In his view, it simply captured what voters expect ahead of the next general election.
He said the warning is better read as a demand on the Independent National Electoral Commission and other players to let the result match the will of the people. “I think the statement he made is not extreme. It is not inciting in any form. He merely stated what the Nigerian electorate will be expecting in 2027,” Umeh said.
If the process is open and votes are properly counted and collated, he argued, there would be little room for doubt or unrest. “There will be no room for fraud or manipulation of election results, if taken further, it is a call on the electoral umpire to ensure that what will come out of that process will be genuine and real.”
The lawmaker added that Obi’s words should be taken as a patriotic call on the commission not to create a situation in which people distrust the figures they announce. He urged Nigerians to guard the ballot by making sure votes at polling units are counted, recorded and sent through the prescribed process.
“So, whether he says the people will count the votes or we count them is a call to duty and awakening the consciousness of everybody to help to protect the sanctity of the ballot box,” Umeh said.
A credible poll, he argued, remains the surest way to keep post election tension down. “If you want to prevent anarchy, the best way to go about it is by doing what is right.”
He said electoral technology, proper accreditation, voting, sorting, counting and collation should make declared results match what Nigerians actually cast. “There will be no anarchy,” he said, adding that any unrest from disputed figures would come from manipulation, not from Obi’s warning.
“When you manipulate and give false results, you are the one inviting the anarchy not Peter Obi, who is saying that the right thing should be done,” Umeh said.
