I had to wait for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conclude and make the official declaration of the all important 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election. I had to wait for INEC to create its own phrase rather than the usual constitutionally dependent ” having satisfied the requirements of the constitution” which precedes every declaration of election results before this intervention.
In declaring the final Presidential Election Result in Nigeria, section 134 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended comes alive and all word and its meaning must be given its desirable, effects and recognition. So, what does the section 134 says ?
” A candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have be been duly elected, where, there being only two candidates for the election –
(a) he has the majority of votes cast at the election; and
(b) he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
(2) A candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being more than two candidates for the election-
(a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election;
and
(b) he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”
For the purpose of time, this article will focus on the second part of the provisions of section 134 of the constitution:
b. he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”Â
From the official result declared by INEC, the APC candidate, Bola Tinubu scored 8,794,726 which obviously represents the majority of the total votes cast. He equally sailed through the second huddle of 25% of total votes cast in at least 24 states. However, he failed to secure the required 25% of the total votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. In other words, he managed to score 90, 902 votes representing 20. 014 % of the total vote cast.Â
Section 1. (1) of the constitution says that the Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. INEC is a creation of the constitution and is therefore bind by the provisions of the constitution.Â
With due respect to those who suggested that the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja is the same as a state. I vehemently disagree. The literal rule of interpretation provides that where the judiciary is faced with the interpretation of statutes, the ordinary grammatical meaning of the word should be applied. There should be no addition, subtraction or extension of the meanings. It should be the way it was provided by the legislature. The Federal Capital Territory is not a state !Â
The Supreme Court has held in plethora of judgements, including in Obi vs INEC that words should be given its ordinary meanings. The word here is ” ANDÂ
AT LEAST TWO- THIRDS OF ALL THE STATES IN THE FEDERATION AND THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY ABUJA.
INEC has committed a constitutional harakiri that shouldn’t be allowed to go unchallenged. The constitution is just too Sacrosanct to be ignored in declaring the President of Nigeria.
PeoplesmindÂ
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