Presidential election: Why INEC shouldn’t have declared Tinubu winner over Obi – Ozoani

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Presidential election: Why INEC shouldn’t have declared Tinubu winner over Obi – Ozoani

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Emeka Ozoani (SAN) has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should not have declared the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu winner of the 2023 presidential election.

According to him, a presidential candidate cannot legally and constitutionally be declared the winner if such candidate fails to win the Federal Capital Territory.

Bola Tinubu could not win the FCT in the just concluded presidential election. He lost Abuja to the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

In a statement on Tuesday, the senior lawyer said, “Any presidential candidate who did not win Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, cannot legally and constitutionally be declared the winner of the presidential Election.

The only available path to INEC is to call for a fresh nomination.”

“Section 133(b), last paragraph of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended attests to this,” the SAN told Tribune.

According to the results read out by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, Tinubu polled a total of 8,794,726 to defeat his closest rivals and candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP who scored 6,984, 520 and 6,101,533 respectively.

The former Lagos State helmsman also fulfilled the 25 percent votes from 24 States as stipulated in the Electoral Act 2022 as amended.