Presidential Election Tribunal Rules FCT Has No Special Status in Vote Requirement

In a recent decision, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal convened in Abuja has rejected a petition that claimed presidential candidates must secure 25% of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be declared winners of the election.

According to a report by ThePressNG, the tribunal’s chairman, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, delivered this ruling on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. He emphasized that the FCT holds no distinct or privileged status and is treated on par with all other states in Nigeria.

The ruling was made in response to a petition filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, who challenged the election of President Bola Tinubu. Obi had argued that Tinubu should be disqualified from being president because he did not win 25% of the votes cast in the FCT.