The Supreme Court has affirmed the ruling of the Appeal Court, stating that a presidential candidate is not required to secure a minimum of 25 percent of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to become the President of Nigeria. Led by Justice Inyang Okoro, the panel of judges reached this decision while considering the appeal brought by Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar against Bola Tinubu's victory.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court clarified that the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC) failure to electronically transmit election results through the IReV portal does not impact the overall collation process. Justice John Okoro emphasized that the Electoral Act grants INEC the authority to decide the method of result transmission.
The justice noted that the appellants failed to provide evidence of electoral law noncompliance and relied solely on INEC's inability to electronically transmit the election results to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal. This judgment carries significant implications for future presidential elections and the interpretation of electoral laws in Nigeria.
