Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Olisa Agbakoba has challenged political parties to take greater responsibility for monitoring election results, insisting that parties must build the capacity to protect their votes rather than depend entirely on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Agbakoba said political parties contesting elections should have the structures and personnel required to collect, verify and preserve results from polling units, particularly ahead of the 2027 general election.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) made the remarks on Wednesday during an appearance on Arise Television, where he discussed INEC’s warning against media organisations independently announcing election results.
He argued that although the media could project election winners, such projections must be based on verifiable results from the electoral process, properly sourced and attributed, rather than figures independently compiled without a credible evidential basis.
According to him, results uploaded to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal (IReV) provide an important reference point for media projections, while the electoral commission retains the statutory authority to declare official results.
INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan had, on October 6, cautioned media organisations against independently declaring election results, citing provisions of the Electoral Act governing the collation and announcement of results.
Agbakoba maintained that journalists must exercise caution in reporting election outcomes, stressing that projections should reflect figures obtained through the established electoral process, including the relevant result forms from polling units through the collation chain.
He cited international media practice, noting that major broadcasters such as CNN typically explain the basis for their projections rather than present them as official declarations.
The legal practitioner also argued that results uploaded to IReV should be admissible as evidence in election petitions, linking the question of media projections to the broader issue of transparency and the preservation of electoral records.
He criticised political parties that approach the courts seeking results from INEC when their polling agents should already have collected copies of the relevant result sheets.
Agbakoba said party agents who participate in the completion and signing of Form EC8A at polling units should provide their parties with independently preserved records that can be compared with results subsequently collated and published.
He described the failure of parties to maintain comprehensive election records as a weakness in their preparations to challenge disputed outcomes.
Parties must build capacity before elections
Addressing concerns that some political parties might lack the resources to deploy agents across the country, Agbakoba insisted that electoral participation should come with a commitment to monitor and defend the outcome.
He said parties must establish the structures needed to track votes nationwide and gather reliable evidence before seeking judicial intervention.
According to him, a party that cannot independently document the results it claims to have secured may find it difficult to challenge the presumption that INEC’s declared results are regular.
He, however, noted that where a party presents credible electoral records that contradict the commission’s figures, such evidence could provide grounds for a court to reconsider the presumption of regularity.
Agbakoba’s position places greater emphasis on the responsibility of political parties to protect their electoral interests through effective organisation, adequate polling-unit coverage and proper record-keeping.
With the 2027 general election approaching, his comments underscore the importance of transparent result management, credible documentation and the capacity of political parties to substantiate claims of electoral malpractice through verifiable evidence.