•Peter Obi (C) at the Occupy National Assembly protest in Abuja
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Monday joined the Occupy National Assembly protest in Abuja.
The protest follows the Senate’s passage of the Electoral Act 2022 (Repeal and Reenactment) Amendment Bill 2026 through the third reading, in which the lawmakers removed the phrase “real-time” transmission of election results, reports Channels TV.
Although the Senate has issued several clarifications regarding reports that it rejected electronic transmission of results, the protesters insist that lawmakers must explicitly include “real-time electronic transmission” in the proposed legislation.
Obi, who is now a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is among the protesters at the National Assembly gate.
He said the Senate must prevent the kind of glitches that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reported in 2023, and make real-time electronic transmission of results mandatory.
Members of civil society organisations, a handful of opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) members, and some women’s groups are part of the protest.
The protesters began their march from the Federal Secretariat, heading towards the National Assembly gate.
There was a heavy security presence at the scene, with personnel drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The police have already barricaded the entrance to the National Assembly.
However, some members of the civil society groups, who spoke to Channels Television, disclosed that the protesters do not intend to enter the National Assembly premises, as the protest is expected to take place mainly at the entrance.
