Tribunal Judgement: Abuja Indigenes Head To Court
... Demand Governor, 3 Senators, Reps, State Assembly
Mark IDRAH
Indigens of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria (FCT) are preparing to take legal actions demanding that they be allowed to elect their governor, three Senators, House of Representatives members, and State House of Assembly representatives.
These decision is as a result of recent judgment by the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal led by Justice Tsamani that ruled Abuja holds no special status compared to other states.
Daniel Bwala, the former spokesman of Atiku Abubakar’s Presidential Campaign Organization, announced this move on his verified X account, formerly known as Twitter, citing the tribunal’s ruling that places Abuja on equal footing with other states.
According to Mr. Bwala, "following the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal judgment which states to the effect that Abuja is just like any other state; I am hearing that the natives of Abuja are approaching the court for an order mandating FGN to let them produce their Governor and 3 Senators amongst other peculiarities of a state. What is good for Guinea is also good for Uganda."
Recall that the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal ruled that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) does not enjoy any special status compared to the other 36 states of the federation concerning the constitutional requirements for 25% votes in the presidential election conducted on February 25th, 2023.
The court emphasised that the FCT holds no superiority over any state in this regard, and "that the Labour Party's interpretation of section 134(2)(b) of the constitution is completely fallacious, if not outrightly ridiculous.
"Section 134(1) and (2) of the constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) states that, in a presidential election involving multiple candidates, the winner must secure a majority of the total votes cast and obtain at least 25% of the votes in two-thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to be declared the duly elected President of Nigeria."
The above sections of the constitution and the interpretation of last Wednesday's judgement is the major reason why the Abuja indigenes are going to court.
