25% FCT votes irrelevant in presidential election – Tribunal

The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in its judgement on Wednesday upheld the argument of President Bola Tinubu that “the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, does not enjoy a special status and that Abuja is inhabited by Nigerians and that Abuja does not enjoy any special privilege.”

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The tribunal, therefore, held that “It was observed as irrelevant,” [in presidential election].

Meanwhile, the 25% votes in the FCT in presidential election is a specific prerequisite by the constitution for a candidate to be declared winner, just like other prerequisites like majority of the total votes cast, 25% of the votes in two-third states of the Federation.

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However, a judicial pronouncement had been made, albeit, the judgement could be challenged at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The tribunal had also rejected 10 of 13 witnesses presented by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) during hearing proceedings on the petition challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general elections.

The tribunal also held that there was no evidence of criminal records against Tinubu in the U.S., ruling that there was no evidence of arrest or conviction of Tinubu in the U.S. for any offence.