By Clement Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, has urged Nigerians to take greater responsibility for protecting the integrity of their votes, warning that electoral participation should not end after casting ballots.
Agbakoba said voters must become actively involved in monitoring the counting, recording and transmission of election results ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The legal practitioner, in a statement posted on his X handle on Friday, November 13, 2026, described it as a major mistake for voters to believe that their responsibility ends once their ballots are deposited in the ballot box.
He expressed concern that Nigeria’s electoral process places excessive emphasis on accreditation and voting, while leaving the crucial stages of vote counting, result verification and documentation largely to political parties and their agents.
According to him, repeated challenges to presidential election results in court raise serious questions about the credibility of the electoral process and the need to strengthen accountability at polling units.
Agbakoba questioned who takes responsibility for verifying that votes counted correspond with those actually cast, checking figures announced by presiding officers and ensuring that results recorded on Form EC8A accurately reflect what transpired at polling units.
He noted that Nigeria’s electoral framework provides for the announcement of results at polling units, completion and signing of Form EC8A, as well as electronic transmission of results to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Result Viewing Portal, known as IReV.
He also pointed out that the Electoral Act 2026 provides that where electronic transmission fails due to communication challenges, the duly signed and stamped Form EC8A remains the primary source for the collation and declaration of election results.
The former NBA president urged political parties to take their responsibilities seriously by deploying adequately trained polling agents to monitor proceedings, identify irregularities, verify announced figures and ensure that result forms are properly completed.
He further encouraged voters to take a legitimate interest in the post-voting process, noting that they could peacefully observe the counting and announcement of results in accordance with INEC guidelines, which provide for observation from at least 300 metres away from polling units.
Agbakoba, however, clarified that his call was not an invitation for voters to crowd polling units or interfere with election officials, but rather a demand for informed, lawful and responsible civic participation.
He lamented that many Nigerians had become detached from the electoral process by leaving the responsibility of protecting their votes entirely to political parties, candidates and their agents, while waiting passively for the announcement of winners.
He maintained that proper counting, accurate recording of figures, verification by polling agents and transparent electronic transmission would make electoral manipulation more difficult and reduce disputes arising from elections.
Drawing lessons from the United States, whose presidential system influenced Nigeria’s constitutional arrangement, Agbakoba said electoral transparency was strengthened when citizens, party representatives, observers and the media actively participated in the process.
He stressed that with Nigeria having 176,846 polling units, meaningful electoral accountability must be established across the country rather than leaving the protection of votes to a handful of political actors.
“Your vote is your choice. Protecting its integrity is a shared responsibility,” he said, urging Nigerians to move beyond merely voting and become active stakeholders in safeguarding the credibility of the 2027 elections.
