Presidential Tribunal says Tinubu doesn’t need to score 25% of votes in Abuja to become president

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has said Abuja, the nation’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), does not hold a special status above other states.

Lovetvnews Nigeria reports that the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel said a presidential candidate did not need to score 25% of votes in the FCT to become president as long as the candidate satisfied the two-third requirements in the constitution.

Peter Obi and Labour Party had said since President Bola Tinubu did not score 25% of votes in the FCT, he should not be declared winner of the election.

This online news medium gathered that Justice Tsammani said Section 134 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) stipulated that a presidential candidate must attain or score a majority of votes cast in a presidential election, where two or more candidates are involved, and at least 25% in two-thirds of the 36 States and FCT to meet the constitutional requirement to be declared as duly elected as President of Nigeria.

On the issue of non-compliance with the Electoral Act & INEC Regulations & Guidelines, Justice Tsammani said the only technological device that is mandatory for INEC to use for the election is the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS).

He added that there is nothing in the regulation to show that the BVAS must electronically transmit polling unit results.

The tribunal also held that IREV is not a collation system, and the judgement in the case of Oyetola vs. INEC clearly supported this.

“There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022,” says Justice Tsammani. It is, at best, optional.