Tinubu Doesn’t Need 25% Of FCT, Never Convicted In USA – PEPC
The Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) sitting in Abuja on Wednesday afternoon rubbished the arguments canvassed by Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi against the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
The Court held that Tinubu was not convicted in the United States and also declared that he did not need to win 25% of the votes in the FCT to be declared president.
Labour Party (LP) and the PDP presidential candidates, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar respectively, had argued that the constitution required that for a candidate to be declared a president-elect, he had to win two-thirds of the states and the FCT.
However, the five-man panel of the Court of Appeal chaired by Justice Haruna Tsammani, specifically held that scoring 25 percent was not a constitutional requirement to become president of Nigeria.
In the words of Justice Tsammani; “The voters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja were equal to every other voter in the states in Nigeria, hence, Abuja had no special status.
Justice Tsammani also ruled that Obi’s claim of widespread election irregularities in the February 25, 2023 presidential election that brought in President Tinubu was generic and not specific and therefore was unproven.
Justice Tsammani while delivering the judgement of members of the panel, held that the claim by Peter Obi that Tinubu was convicted in the United States was not proven nor backed with evidence of conviction in the USA.
The Justices held that no record of criminal arrest or conviction was established against Tinubu by Labour Party and Peter Obi and therefore declared that Tinubu’s candidacy in the February 25, 2023, presidential election cannot be disqualified on the grounds of forfeiture of $460,000 said to be proceeds of drug trafficking in U.S.
The PEPC also dismissed the claim by Peter Obi of massive rigging of the election stressing that there were no specific examples cited.
