The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has rejected the petition by the Labour Party (LP) and Peter Obi against the election that produced President Bola Tinubu.
The petition claimed that winning 25% of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, is required to win the presidential election.
In striking out the petition, the court emphasized that Abuja is treated similarly to other states, dismissing the claim that FCT residents possess special privileges.
Justice Haruna Tsammani, the chairman of the 5-man panel, announced this decision while delivering the verdict at the Presidential Election Petition court session on Wednesday. held at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
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He explained that, as stated in Section 134 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), a presidential candidate must secure a majority of votes when competing with two or more candidates in a presidential election, and also obtain at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the 36 States and FCT to meet the constitutional requirement for being declared duly elected as President of Nigeria.
The tribunal firmly rejected the petitioners’ interpretation of Section 134(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution, describing it as “completely fallacious, if not outrightly ridiculous”.
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