25% in 25 states- scaling the mandatory constitutional hurdle required in winning presidential elections in Nigeria: a legal opinion

Abstract

This paper attempts to shed an interpretation light on the seeming mandatory constitutional requirement to score at least 25% votes in at least 25 states out of the 37 federating units of Nigeria. It employed the recently conducted Presidential election in Nigeria as its case study and asked the overarching question whether or not the declared candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the law regarding the constitutional requirement of having and meeting 25% of vote spread in at least two-thirds of votes cast in the states of the federation and the FCT, Abuja and the paper answered in the affirmative based on the interpretation of the constitutional provision and other supporting electoral guidelines. The study found that the FCT, Abuja has no special status, neither do the voters therein enjoy a special voting status within the contemplation of the Nigerian law. The paper concludes that the intention of the drafters of the constitution is that all votes must count and no vote should matter more than the other and that whoever wins the majority of votes cast in a Presidential election should have a base minimal acceptance in two-thirds majority of the federating units across all regions in a pluralistic, multi-ethnic, multi-religious society like ours, as the law was not targeted at elevating the votes of Abuja-resident elites over and above the votes of ordinary people living in the trenches in other parts of the nation.