The Supreme Court has finally ruled on the controversial issue of the mandatory need to secure 25 percent of votes in Abuja to be declared the winner of the presidential election in Nigeria.
Re-emphasizing ruling of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court in its verdict on Thursday submitted that a presidential candidate does not need to secure 25 percent in Abuja to win an election once he satisfied one-quarter in two-thirds of the state.
The Herald reports that the Supreme Court gave the verdict while delivering judgement in the case by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) against the victory of President Bola Tinubu at the February 25 elections and his affirmation by the Presidential Election Petition Court.
The court held that there is no merit in the issue of the requirement to secure 25 percent in Abuja and therefore resolved the matter against the appellants.
The Herald recalls that the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal had declared that the FCT does not hold a higher status than other states in the country.
The judgement followed Atiku’s and Obi’s petitions claiming that Tinubu did not win the majority of votes in the February 25 presidential election.
At the time of filing this report, the judgment was still ongoing.
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