Tribunal: Tinubu Kicks Against Presidential Election Nullification Says It Could Cause Unrest

EKO HOT BLOG reports that President Bola Tinubu has issued a warning against nullifying the February 25th presidential election, which resulted in his victory, on the grounds that he did not secure 25% of the lawful votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Tinubu argued that such a decision could lead to absurdity, chaos, anarchy, and undermine the intention of the legislature.

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Tinubu made these submissions in his final written address presented before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PREPEC). The court had been considering two petitions filed by the candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, seeking the nullification of Tinubu’s victory.

In their petitions, Atiku and Obi alleged that INEC did not substantially comply with electoral guidelines and regulations during the 2023 general elections, and they also questioned Tinubu’s eligibility based on an alleged United States District Court judgment ordering the forfeiture of suspected drug trafficking proceeds.

Tinubu’s defense centered on the fact that the two petitions were novel and not familiar with the country’s electoral laws. He argued that the petitioners’ primary contention was that some election results were not electronically uploaded to the INEC Election Result Viewing (IREV) Portal and that Tinubu did not secure 25% of the votes in the FCT.

The Constitution requires a presidential candidate to secure at least one-quarter of the votes cast in two-thirds of all states and the FCT to be declared duly elected. Tinubu maintained that even if results were canceled in some states, as long as the winning candidate met the constitutional requirements in the other states, the election should remain valid.

Regarding electronic transmission of results, Tinubu’s counsel emphasized that the law recognized both electronic and manual transmission, and the petitioners’ witnesses failed to provide sufficient evidence to invalidate the election.

Furthermore, Tinubu urged the court to add 10,929 votes from Kano State, which had been discounted during collation, to increase his total votes from 8,794,726 to 8,800,369.

Tinubu concluded his written address by requesting the court to dismiss the petitions as lacking in merit and constituting an abuse of the judicial process. He maintained that the election was conducted peacefully, and there was no evidence of rigging or electoral irregularities.

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As the tribunal evaluates the arguments presented by both parties, the fate of Tinubu’s presidency remains in the balance. The court’s decision will have significant implications for Nigeria’s political landscape and the legitimacy of the electoral process.

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