‘Don’t be deceived, monitor voting and results’ — Rufai Oseni urges Citizens ahead of 2027 Polls

Arise TV Morning Show co-anchor Rufai Oseni has urged Nigerians to actively track election results and set up independent monitoring channels during the upcoming 2027 general elections.

Speaking on Wednesday's broadcast of the Morning Show, Oseni stressed that while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) holds sole legal authority to declare final winners, citizens have every right to observe, cross-check, and independently collate uploaded figures.

"Please, every Nigerian, monitor the results. The only difference is that you can't announce it as an official. Monitor the results," Oseni said during the program.

"Set up your own election monitoring station, collation station, where, if possible, as it is dropping on IReV, you are gathering the data and appending your results. Please do it."

Highlighting past technical glitches and administrative lapses including irregularities on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal during regional elections and the unauthorized declaration of results during the 2023 Adamawa governorship contest—Oseni argued that independent scrutiny remains crucial to safeguarding electoral integrity.

He appealed to INEC to mandate the prompt upload of primary polling unit records (Form EC8A) alongside higher collation sheets (Forms EC8B and EC8C) to allow public peer-review and verification.

"It’s only INEC that can declare the result. But to monitor, to have your own, to cross-check, to do a report based on your own analysis, it is also done," Oseni clarified, encouraging voters to demand full transparency and open protocols from the commission as it prepares for the 2027 national cycle.