25% FCT Votes: I Expect The Court To Be Flexible In Its Interpretation Of Constitution -Lemmy Ughegbe

GLatestJuly 17, 2023

1 minute read

Following President Bola Tinubu’s call for the Election Petitions Tribunal to not nullify the February 25 presidential polls due to his failure to secure twenty-five percent of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), journalist and public affairs analyst, Lemmy Ughegbe, has stressed the importance of the court interpreting the Constitution properly and flexibly to address the issue.

During an interview on Africa Independent Television’s ‘Kaakaki’ program, Ughegbe expressed his agreement with the President’s message to the tribunal but urged the five-man-panel of Appeal Court Justices to consider the intentions of the legislators who created the constitutional provision for electoral votes in the FCT.

He found it illogical for an election to be nullified based solely on one state, especially if a candidate has won in 30 other states. Ughegbe emphasized that the provision of the Constitution regarding twenty-five percent of the votes in the FCT is subject to interpretation, similar to how different referees interpret certain rules differently in football.

He also said that the law should not cause confusion and suggested that the Justices should think about the intentions of the Constitution’s drafters when interpreting the provisions. Ughegbe argued that if a candidate has achieved twenty-five percent in 30 states, it is illogical to say they cannot win because they did not meet the same threshold in the FCT.