“Party Agents, Not Just IReV, will Determine 2027 Election success”- Nenadi Usman
In order to achieve the intended result of the general elections in 2027, the Labour Party (LP) has reaffirmed that the Nigerian people’s diligence, willpower, and unity will be more important than any institutional or statutory measures.
Senator Nenadi Usman, the Interim National Chairman, stated at the Citizens’ Townhall on the Electoral Act, 2026, in Abuja, that if political parties can send out competent, attentive, and well-trained agents to every polling station, the controversy surrounding the Act’s Section 60(3) is needless.
Senator Usman emphasized that the main source for results is Form EC8A, which poll workers or candidates must countersign.
“I recognize the worries voiced, especially by opposition parties, regarding the potential for abuse of the fallback to Form EC8A in the event of network disruptions.
“But I have always argued that the readiness and presence of a political party at a polling station ultimately determine whether that party succeeds or fails there,” she said.
She asserts that political parties are in charge of making sure the votes are safeguarded, appropriately recorded, and appropriately displayed on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.
She urged everyone to keep in mind that the IReV is primarily used for record-keeping and result viewing, not for collation.
The National Chairman said that the Labour Party has learned some lessons from the previous presidential election, pointing out that the party realized that careful grassroots preparation, especially the deployment of agents, is the cornerstone of electoral success.
She revealed that the party is investing a lot of money and effort to guarantee adequate representation in all 176,974 polling places across the country.
“We were unable to provide adequate agent coverage to produce properly countersigned copies of Form EC8A from all over the federation in the previous presidential election, despite our strong belief in our performance,” she continued.
Senator Usman stated his opinion that the fear of real-time electronic transmission as the only guarantee of reliable outcomes might lessen if political parties could fortify their internal systems and carry out their duties with diligence.
If the parties rely solely on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) while ignoring their crucial role on election day, she claims that doing otherwise amounts to outsourcing the solution to their organizational shortcomings.
However, Section 84(2) of the Electoral Act, which limits the only ways to nominate party candidates to direct primaries or consensus in accordance with party guidelines, was criticized by the National Chairman.
She recommended that parties be given “the discretion to adopt the method of candidate selection – direct, indirect, or consensus – that best aligns with their constitution and operational context,” despite acknowledging that both direct and indirect primaries have benefits and drawbacks.
However, if all parties are dedicated to respecting the people’s will, Senator Usman stated confidence that the current framework can produce transparent and credible elections.
