Six States approach Supreme Court to nullify INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as president-elect

Six states, Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, and Sokoto, have approached the Supreme Court over the conduct, collation, and announcement of the recent presidential and National Assembly elections in what seems to be a replay of the ongoing lawsuit over the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to prohibit the use of some denominations of old currencies.

The candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was declared the winner of the presidential election which took place on February 25 and the president-elect based on that election.

The states, however, want the Supreme Court to revoke that declaration. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against INEC’s declaration of Tinubu in an originating summons marked: SC/CV/354/2023.

The suit was filed by the Attorney Generals of Adamawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Sokoto, with Attorney General of the Federation as sole respondent

According to the suit filed on February 28, by their lawyer, Prof Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the officials and agents of the federal government and INEC, failed to transmit the collated result as stipulated by the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022; the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022; and the INEC Manual for Election Officials requiring transmission of the results by the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in an egregious breach of the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022; the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023.

They are seeking “A declaration that the entire results of the Presidential Election conducted on the 25th of February, 2023 announced by the Chairman of INEC at the National Collation Centre, Abuja, in flagrant violation of the provisions of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the Presidential Election, were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.

“A declaration that the fundamentally flawed electoral process through the non-uploading of the results of each of the 176,974 Polling Units nationwide, in respect of the presidential election and National Assembly Elections held on Saturday, 25th February 2023 were not in accordance with the provisions of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the presidential election.

Also, plaintiffs filed another application requesting an order for abridging time for parties to file and serve responses for and against the suit.

Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the hearing.