The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has dismissed the petition alleging that the requirement for presidential candidates to be declared winners of the election is that they must secure 25% of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT).
The tribunal chairman, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, said in a ruling yesterday that there is no special status attached to the FCT and that it is equal to every other state in Nigeria.
The ruling was made in response to a petition filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who challenged the election of President Bola Tinubu. Obi had argued that Tinubu should be disqualified from being president because he did not win 25% of the votes cast in the FCT.
The five-member panel emphasised that the sole technological requirement mandated for use by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) during elections is the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, (BVAS).
Regarding allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, INEC Regulations and Guidelines, Justice Tsammani added that there is no indication in the regulations that BVAS must electronically transmit polling unit results. “There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022. It is at best optional”, he said.
