Tinubu’s Victory: Is 25% Votes in FCT Mandatory? Ex-INEC REC Igini Speaks
- Former INEC commissioner in Akwa Ibom, Mike Igini, has thrown more light on the controversial 25% of votes in the FCT mandated to win the presidential election
- Igini noted that the 25% votes in FCT are compulsory and mandatory for a candidate to win the presidential election according to the Nigerian constitution
- Meanwhile, INEC declared Bola Tinubu the winner of the February 25 presidential election despite not securing the 25% votes in the FCT
- This development has continued to generate heated debate in the polity, with some criticising the electoral body
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The former resident electoral commissioner (REC) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa Ibom, Mike Igini, has stirred reactions online.
In a now-viral video, Igini was quoted saying Nigeria’s constitution mandated a candidate to score 25% of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before being declared winner in the presidential poll.
Source: Facebook
25% votes in FCT is mandatory, Ex-INEC REC Igini says in a trending video
Meanwhile, the INEC's declaration of Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, as the winner of the February 25 poll, despite failing to secure 25% votes in the FCT, has raised a series of questions in the polity.
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But, in a video clip obtained by Nigerian Tribune Online, the former INEC REC, during an interview with Arise Television, a few hours before the Saturday, February 25 presidential poll, said it is a “compulsory question” for a candidate to have 25% votes in the FCT before being declared president-elect.
His words:
“Apart from having 25% in 24 States (of the federation). The FCT is like a compulsory question without 25%, you go nowhere.”
List of presidential candidates, parties that want court to sack Bola Tinubu as president-elect
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, won the February 25 elections.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Tinubu polled 8.8 million votes to emerge the winner.
However, five of his contenders are challenging the outcome of the polls in court.
Is interim government constitutional? Top Nigerian lawyer explains
Ahead of the Monday, May 29 handover ceremony of the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a Nigerian lawyer revealed why the interim government plot should be looked into critically.
In a chat with Legit.ng on Friday, April 14, Barrister Oluwole Olukunle Moses revealed the identities of "key players in the polity", who are behind the plot in the country and as well how interim government alarm, if unattended to could lead to an uprising in the land.
The legal practitioner noted that such an idea after the winner of the February 25 election has been declared is strange and unconstitutional.
Source: Legit.ng
