Political parties have been urged to properly train and deploy their polling agents ahead of the 2027 general elections, with lawyer and human rights advocate, Mrs Ayo Obe, stressing that credible elections depend not only on electoral technology but also on the integrity and preparedness of political actors.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Obe gave the charge while delivering a lecture titled, “Democracy at the Crossroads: Electoral Credibility, Judicial Integrity, and the Future of Nigeria,” at the 25th edition of the Dr. Mike Okonkwo Annual Lecture in Lagos on Thursday.
She said properly trained party agents were crucial to ensuring that election results were accurately recorded, collated and, where necessary, successfully defended in court.
According to her, political parties must have agents who understand their responsibilities “at every level from the polling booth, through collation to the final result.”
“When it comes to a Presidential election, the size of the constituency is generally too huge for a successful challenge on the number of votes cast to be mounted unless the challengers have mounted a really first class ground operation with party agents who are clear about what they are required to do at every level from the polling booth, through collation to the final result,” she said.
Obe said the importance of party agents was underscored by the availability of duplicate result sheets issued to them and other stakeholders during elections.
She explained that results sheets signed by polling officials, security personnel and party agents constituted important evidence that could be relied upon in election litigation.
“Each results sheet is primary evidence of the others,” she said, adding that the duplicate hardcopies held by political parties and security agencies could become critical when election results were challenged.
She cited the 2019 Imo State governorship election dispute involving former Governor Hope Uzodinma and Emeka Ihedioha as an example of the importance of such evidence.
According to Obe, “it was the duplicate hardcopy of collated results issued to the Nigeria Police Force that secured Uzodinma’s win at the Supreme Court.”
She therefore cautioned political parties against treating the work of polling agents as a secondary responsibility.
Beyond election-day procedures, Obe warned that insecurity, electoral violence, intimidation and voter suppression could significantly undermine participation in the 2027 elections.
She said even incidents of violence that were temporary or limited to particular areas could have a broader effect on public confidence in the electoral process.
“Insecurity, electoral violence, intimidation or outright disenfranchisement” were among factors capable of discouraging citizens from voting, she said.
According to her, “if one hears that there was violence in particular areas where a lot of members of a specific community live – no matter how temporary such violence is, or however limited in scope it may be – that becomes the story of the election.”
Obe also questioned the continued description of low voter turnout as simply “voter apathy”, arguing that the term could fail to capture the deeper reasons why citizens stay away from elections.
She said the constant negative narrative surrounding elections could discourage Nigerians from exercising their franchise.
“The media uses the term ‘voter apathy’ to describe the very low turnout at our elections,” she said, but argued that “‘apathy’ is too passive a word for what may be a specific and active determination not to vote.”
She identified several factors that could discourage citizens from voting, including alleged manipulation of voter registration, insecurity, violence, intimidation, disenfranchisement and vote buying.
Obe also referred to reports from the recent Osun State election of vote buying and threats against voters who collected money but allegedly failed to vote as instructed.
She said improvements in the electoral process, particularly technology that makes it harder for party agents to verify how an individual voted, had made it more difficult for vote buyers to confirm that purchased votes were delivered.
“The vote buyers now have to resort to supernatural means to secure what has been paid for,” she said.
While acknowledging improvements in the accuracy of Nigeria’s vote count through the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV) and duplicate result sheets, Obe cautioned that technology alone could not guarantee credible elections.
“Technology can transmit a result, but it cannot create political integrity,” she declared.
She said technology could help strengthen electoral integrity but could not compensate for “institutional weakness, political interference, poor implementation, bad faith by political actors and weak enforcement.”
Obe further raised concerns about the powers vested in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), particularly under the 2026 Electoral Act.
She said the new law had placed “even more power” in the hands of INEC by limiting the jurisdiction of the courts over the internal affairs of political parties.
She warned that INEC’s recognition of one faction of a political party over another could have significant consequences for political competition, especially where such decisions are perceived as lacking integrity or transparency.
“The decision by INEC to recognise this faction rather than that faction of a political party places even greater power in its hands,” she said, adding that “that power is not one that INEC has always wielded with integrity and transparency.”
On the judiciary, Obe said judicial integrity went beyond whether judges accepted bribes, stressing that it also involved “independence, impartiality, competence, courage, transparency, consistency, accountability and public confidence.”
She also warned about the consequences of Nigeria’s winner-takes-all political system, particularly the enormous powers attached to political office.
“The central question remains whether democratic institutions can remain independent when the ‘winner takes it all’ and political power provides access to patronage, public resources, contracts, appointments and influence?” she asked.
Obe said the enormous benefits attached to political power created a temptation for politicians to “win at all costs”, potentially turning democratic institutions into instruments of political competition.
She nevertheless noted that Nigeria’s electoral process had recorded improvements, particularly in the accuracy of vote counting.
She credited BVAS, IReV and the role of trained party agents with helping to strengthen the integrity of election results.
In her concluding remarks, Obe urged Nigerians to participate actively in the electoral process, including by obtaining their voter cards and voting.
She returned to the example of Professor Nnenna Nnannaya Oti, who, during the contentious 2023 Abia governorship election collation, insisted on following INEC’s processes before announcing the result.
Quoting Oti’s declaration, she said: “I shall stand squarely on the processes and procedures of INEC.”
Obe said the example demonstrated the importance of individual integrity within the electoral system.
She urged citizens to do their part to strengthen democracy, stressing that electoral participation remained fundamental to ensuring that citizens’ choices matter.
“Because the one vote that is certain not to be counted is the vote that is not cast,” she said.