Peter Obi leads protest at National Assembly over deletion of “real-time” electronic transmission from electoral bill

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi joined hundreds of demonstrators at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Monday to protest the Senate’s decision to remove the phrase “real-time” from provisions on electronic transmission of election results in the amended Electoral Act.

The protest, dubbed “Occupy the National Assembly,” was organized by members of the Obidient Movement and pro-democracy activists.

They argue that the Senate’s amendment is a deliberate attempt to weaken electoral transparency ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Last week, the Senate passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which deletes “real-time” from clauses dealing with electronic result transmission—a move critics say opens the door to manipulation.

Although the Senate has issued clarifications stating it did not reject electronic transmission outright, protesters insist the omission of “real-time” creates room for post-election interference.

Chanting and carrying placards with messages such as “Our votes must count,” demonstrators marched from the Federal Secretariat but were blocked by a heavy security deployment at the National Assembly gates.

Addressing journalists, Obi condemned what he called the steady erosion of democratic gains.

“We must dismantle this criminality and prove that we are now a nation that shows light in Africa,” he said, urging lawmakers to enact laws mandating electronic transmission of results.

Obi’s presence energized the crowd, many of whom view him as a symbol of the youth-driven political movement from the 2023 elections.

The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr. Yunusa Tanko, vowed to continue the agitation until “real-time” electronic transmission is explicitly restored.

“If there is no electronic transmission of results, there will be no election. Our elections must be credible,” he stated, highlighting past problems with manual result collation.

Activist Randy Peters also spoke, accusing the political class of betraying democratic ideals and invoking the legacy of the historic June 12, 1993 election.

He promised that protesters would return until their demands are met, asserting, “In 2027, our votes must count.”

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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