Chief Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), a former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, has reacted to the controversy surrounding the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC in the recently concluded Nigerian 2023 general elections as President Elect.
The former AGF maintained that before a candidate can be declared winner in a presidential election, that candidate must score 25 per cent of the votes cast in the election in 2/3 of the 36 states and 25% in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
This is coming as a constitutional lawyer, Prof. Mike Ozekhome (INEC), faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for going ahead to declare Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the President-elect, having not scored the required 25 per cent in the FCT.
Aondoakaa, who stated this while appearing as a guest on ARISE NEWS Channel programme, monitored maintained that this requirement had been the law and has not changed since the pronouncement of the Supreme Court in 2008.
While noting that the matter is already in court and, as such, he would not dwell deeply on it, the former AGF recalled that the Supreme Court had in 2008 in a suit involving the current President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the then President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, resolved the issue of the 25 per cent in 2/3 of the states of the federation and the FCT.
“It’s a very difficult situation, but the matter has been interpreted before, around 2008, in a matter involving the current President,” he said, adding that “the pronouncement then was that the ‘and’ is used conjunctively; that was the interpretation then.“Maybe the Supreme Court may have another look since it was a long time ago, but as of now, that is the interpretation.“ The interpretation was that the states and the Federal Capital Territory shall be construed conjunctively. In order words, you must get 25 per cent in 2/3 and 25 per cent in the FCT if you go by the interpretation of
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