The Presidential Election Petition Court has said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was at liberty to transmit results however it wanted, and not only electronically.
Peter Obi and the Labour Party in their petition challenging the victory of Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election argued that the electoral body, INEC failed to transmit election results from the polling units to the collation centres electronically.
However, the court on Wednesday said there was nowhere in law where INEC was only required to transmit results by electronic means.
The defendant is at liberty to decide how it would transmit election results, the court held.
It further held that there is no requirement for INEC to electronically transmit the results of the election.
Earlier, the court held that it was irrelevant that President Bola Tinubu failed to score 25% of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
SaharaReporters had reported that Peter Obi and the Labour Party prayed the court to declare him as the candidate that secured the majority of the lawful votes cast with the required constitutional spread of not less than 25% of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the states of the federation, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
But in its ruling on Wednesday, the court held that it was irrelevant.
It agreed with the argument of the respondent that “the FCT does not enjoy a special status, that Abuja is inhabited by Nigerians and that Abuja does not enjoy any special privilege.”
“It was observed as irrelevant,” it held.
Earlier the court said Peter Obi and the Labour Party (LP) failed to prove anomalies in their petition against President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.