25% Votes: Supreme Court Upholds Appeal Court’s Ruling On FCT
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the ruling by the Appeal Court that a candidate does not need to get at least 25 per cent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be declared as Nigeria’s President.
Justice Inyang Okoro led the panel of justices to determine Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar’s appeal against Bola Tinubu’s victory.
While Atiku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP)’s Obi had wanted the victory of Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in February 2023 to be nullified on the grounds that he did not get 25 per cent of votes in the FCT, amongst others, the Appeal Court ruled that their petitions were immaterial.
Unsatisfied with the judgment, the duo took the matter to the apex court, seeking to overturn Tinubu’s win.
However, on Thursday, Justice Okoro corroborated the Appeal Court’s ruling, saying the FCT has no special status.