TribunaI: 2/3 of votes in 36 states and the FCT is a disjunctive word- Onueze Okocha SAN explains

Onueze Okocha, a former president of the NBA and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has revealed his interpretation of the Nigerian constitutional requirement for a presidential candidate to receive 2/3 of the votes in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He agreed with the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal’s (PEPT) conclusion that Abuja, the FCT, should not possess the authority to determine the country’s president. Okocha said that winning in the FCT is not an absolute necessity if a candidate has secured 2/3 of the votes in 29 states.

During an interview with TVC , Okocha expressed his complete agreement with the justices’ interpretation who delivered the verdict at the presidential election tribunal. He argued that Abuja, or the Federal Capital Territory, shares similarities with a state in terms of its status, and there is nothing inherently distinct about Abuja that should grant it the role of a decisive factor in presidential elections.

Okocha further explained his view by describing the phrase “2/3 of the votes cast in all 36 states and the federal capital area” as a disjunctive phrase. He clarified that if a candidate secures 2/3 of the vote in 29 states, there is no need to be concerned about whether the candidate declared the winner received 2/3 of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory. In his perspective, the FCT is an ordinary entity and lacks any unique characteristics that would justify its pivotal role in the electoral process.

He said, “I completely agree with the interpretation offered by the justices who made this verdict of the presidential election tribunal. Abuja, or the Federal Capital Territory, almost has the status of a state. There is nothing unique about Abuja that would make it the so-called deciding factor in whether a presidential candidate has won the election. When they indicate that 2/3 of the votes were cast in all 36 states and the federal capital area, I refer to that as a disjunctive word. If you received 2/3 of the vote in 29 states, you don’t need to worry about whether the candidate who was declared the victor received 2/3 of the votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory. The FCT is ordinary; it has nothing unique”.

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