Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN

Human rights activist and constitutional lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN has said that the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not have been declared the winner of the just concluded presidential election because he did not score 25% in the federal capital territory even though he had the highest votes and scored 25% in 24 states across the country.

According to the constitutional lawyer, Ahmed Tinubu will carry a burden of legitimacy as the Election was manipulated and heavily doctored.

Ozekhome’s position is coming after another legal luminary, Femi Falana SAN said it is not compulsory for a presidential candidate to score 25% in the federal capital territory before he can be declared winner of the presidential election. Falana had explained few days ago that the law sees the FCT as any of the 36 states in the country.

But speaking to newsmen, Ozekhome who faulted the conduct of the presidential election said,

“it is clear from the provisions of the constitution, section 132 to 134 that the winner of the presidential election must not only win plurality of the votes, that is the most number of votes, he must also win 25% in each of at least two-thirds of the Nigerian states and the federal capital territory.

What does that mean? You must get 25% in 24 states and the FCT. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not score 25% in FCT. Even if he scored in 24 without scoring 25% in FCT, he could not and he should not have been declared president elect as INEC wrongly did. So all these are matters that must and will be challenged at the tribunal.”

Ozekhome noted that nothing positive should be expected from the INEC as it is presently constituted.

He further advised the judiciary to look critically at the matter and not on technicality in order to uphold the wishes of the people as expressed at the polls.