In a recent development, the Presidential Election Petition Court has clarified that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) does not hold a special status and is not of greater significance than any other state in Nigeria.
Previously, the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, asserted in their petitions that President Bola Tinubu had not garnered 25% of the votes in Abuja, which, according to them, rendered his victory in the polls invalid.
However, during the ruling on the preliminary objections raised by the respondents, the panel’s chairman, Justice Haruna Tsammani, explicitly stated that Abuja does not enjoy a unique or elevated status in comparison to other Nigerian states.
He emphasized, “This court acknowledges that the FCT does not possess any special status and is on equal footing with all other states in Nigeria.”
