In a dramatic turn of events, President Bola Tinubu’s legal team has cautioned the presidential elections tribunal that removing him as president due to his failure to score 25% of votes in Abuja could potentially lead to a breakdown of law and order in Nigeria. The lawyers emphasized that although Tinubu admitted to not meeting the required threshold in Abuja, it was insufficient to overturn his victory as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Citing a section of the Nigerian Constitution, which states that a presidential candidate must score 25% of votes in two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), Tinubu’s lawyers, led by Wole Olanipekun, argued that any other interpretation of the clause would result in absurdity, chaos, anarchy, and a distortion of the legislature’s original intention.
“Our courts have always adopted a purposeful approach to the interpretation of our Constitution, as exemplified in a host of decisions,” the legal team stated in their final defense statement to the court.
The lawyers further contended that even if Tinubu failed to secure any votes in Abuja and one other state, it would not negate his overall victory in the election. However, it is worth noting that this argument differs from the petitions put forth by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
“Even if there was no election in one state (including the FCT), or even if the election of a state/states (including the FCT) is/are voided, the entire election cannot be voided or canceled,” the legal team asserted.
Concluding their defense, Tinubu’s lawyers urged the tribunal to rule against the petitioners and in favor of the respondent, emphasizing that every election is determined by the electorate’s plebiscite, without any special voting rights granted to residents of the FCT over residents of other states in the federation.
