In a recent development, Nigeria’s two primary opposition leaders, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, have jointly submitted a request to the Supreme Court, urging it to annul the tribunal’s decision from last month, which had upheld President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the February election.
This move represents their final attempt to overturn the election results, which had been widely recognized by the international community.
It’s important to note that Nigeria has a historical precedent where no legal challenge to the outcome of a presidential election has succeeded, even though the nation transitioned to democracy in 1999 after nearly three decades of military rule, marked by electoral irregularities. Past elections had been marred by issues like ballot box theft, allegations of permitting unregistered voters to cast ballots, and the presentation of entirely fabricated results.
The petition to the Supreme Court comes after the presidential tribunal dismissed Atiku and Obi’s petitions to nullify the election results due to alleged irregularities on September 6. Lawyers representing the opposition leaders argued that the tribunal made errors in determining the mandatory nature of electronically transmitting results from polling stations by the electoral agency, which had previously promised to do so.
Additionally, they contended that President Tinubu failed to secure 25% of the vote in the federal capital, Abuja, thereby not meeting the legal threshold to be declared the winner.
According to Nigeria’s electoral law, a presidential candidate is considered victorious if they obtain at least one-fourth of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the 36 states and Abuja. However, this provision has been interpreted differently by the opposition and President Tinubu’s legal team.
The opposition insists that a successful candidate should secure 25% of the vote in three-quarters of the states and in Abuja, while President Tinubu’s camp argues that the 25% requirement applies to the combined total of states and Abuja.
The Supreme Court, as the ultimate authority in presidential election disputes, now has 60 days from the date of the presidential tribunal’s ruling to make its judgment.
The outcome of this case will be closely watched, as it has the potential to influence the political landscape of Nigeria.
