Controversies have trailed the recently conducted 2023 general elections in Nigeria. Notable in this category is the debate on the percentage of votes a candidate must garner in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) before such person can be declared president-elect.
The issue has gained momentum in the political sphere and has since sparked various interpretations as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has since issued a certificate of return to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC), who was declared winner of the February 25 presidential election.
As days went by, a series of debate emerging from the provisions of section 134 of the Nigerian constitution also gained momentum. The section states that for a candidate to be declared president-elect, he must have a majority of votes cast and 25% of the votes in at least 24 of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Some experts believe that Tinubu, the president-elect, should not have been declared the winner of the presidential poll as he couldn’t clinch 25% of the total votes cast in the FCT.
The arguments mostly border on ‘and the FCT’, thus raising the question of whether the FCT is or should be regarded as a state.
Aggrieved parties have approached the election tribunal to contest the declaration made by the electoral umpire.
As we await the outcome of the litigation process, CDD Election War Room has compiled a list of things that you should know about the FCT and its status.
Has any past elected president scored less than 25% in FCT since 1999?
Nigeria has had seven general elections since its return to democracy in 1999. Before now, there has been no query on the status of the FCT as the past presidents-elect all met the 25% threshold until now.
Here’s a rundown of the results to date.
The 1999 elections returned us to civilian rule. The major candidates were Samuel Oluyemi Falae of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and All People’s Party (APP), and Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Obasanjo won the election with a total of 18,738,154 votes (62.8%). Falae, the closest rival, had 11,110,287 votes (37.2%). In the FCT, Obasanjo polled 59,234 votes (59.8%) while Falae polled 39,788 votes (40.2%).
In 2003, the major candidates were Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP and Odumegwu Ojukwu of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Obasanjo, who won the elections, garnered 24,109,157 votes (61.8%), Buhari had 12,495,326 (32.0%) while Ojukwu scored 1,295,655 (03.3%). In the FCT, Obasanjo polled 130,243 (49.9%), Buhari had 99,220 (38.0%) and Ojukwu got 22,481 votes (08.6%).
In 2007, the major candidates were Umaru Yar’Adua of the ruling PDP, Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP and Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC).
Yar’Adua won the election with 24,638,063 votes (69.60%), followed by Buhari with 6,t605,299 (18.66%) and Atiku who had 2,637,848 (7.45%) votes. There is no state-by-state data for this election.
In 2011 the major candidates were Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
Jonathan won with a total of 22,495,187 (58.87%) votes while Buhari polled 12,214,853 (31.97%) votes. In FCT, the PDP had 253,444 (63.66%) votes while the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 131,576 (33.05%) votes.
In the 2015 elections, where an incumbent lost the seat to an opposition, the major candidates were Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.
APC won the election with a total of 15,424,921 votes while the PDP garnered 12,853,162 votes. The candidates of the two parties got above 25% in the FCT as PDP scored 157,195 (51.24%) and APC had 146,399 (47. 72%) votes.
In 2019, the two top contenders were Muhammadu Buhari of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. Buhari won with a total of 15,191,847 votes (55.60%), while Atiku got 11,262,978 votes (41.22%). In FCT, APC got 152,224 (35.91%) while PDP had 259,997 votes (61.33%).
The 2023 elections proved distinct with the emergence of a third force. The major candidates were Bola Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
Obi won the FCT with 281,717 votes and was the only candidate to have gotten over 25%. Both Atiku and Tinubu were not able to make 25%.
What the experts are saying?
Mike Ozekhome, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in a recent article explained the status of the FCT under the provisions of the constitution.
He concluded by explaining that as regards the elections, “the FCT is not a State, but should rather be treated as if it were one. Thus, in seeking 25% in 2/3 of ALL THE STATES of the Federation AND the FCT, the Constitution clearly distinguished the FCT as a separate entity or a special territory, wherein the Presidential candidate needed to obtain at least 25% of the total votes cast in the election.
“The reason for this is not far-fetched, as Abuja is the melting pot which unites all ethnic groups, tribes, religions, backgrounds, and other distinct qualities and characteristics in our plural society.”
Another SAN, Femi Falana, spoke contrary to Ozekhome. According to Falana, it was not mandatory for a presidential candidate to win the FCT to be declared the winner of the election.
Falana explained that the law sees the FCT as any of the 36 states in the country. Thus, “It is not compulsory for a presidential candidate to win the FCT.”
He argued that provided the candidate was able to get the required 25% in the majority of states, he can be declared the winner.
The FCT
The then head of the Federal Military Government, Murtala Muhammed in a nationwide broadcast, announced the creation of the FCT on February 3, 1976.
The broadcast came on the heels of the acceptance of the recommendations of a committee headed by Akinola Aguda, a retired Nigerian jurist and former Chief Justice of Botswana.
The committee was set up by the Murtala Muhammed-led regime in August 1975, to review the need for a new federal capital city and the suitability of Abuja for that purpose.
After the designation of Abuja in 1976, Lagos continued to serve as the functional capital city of Nigeria until December 12, 1991, when the office of the President of Nigeria was effectively relocated to Abuja during the regime of Ibrahim Babangida.
The FCT has since been given the status of the seat of power in line with the provisions of chapter 5 of the 1999 constitution, subsequent to the 1979 order.
Reason for constitutional contention
Section 299 of the Constitution states, “The provisions of this Constitution shall apply to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as if it were one of the States of the Federation.”
Although the FCT has some pari-passu with states, it is, however, limited within the constructs of the constitution.
Many argue that the limitations have restricted the right to call the FCT an outright state as it has no governor. Although the constitution makes provision for the appointment of a minister from the region, the people of the FCT who are indigenes do not make the choice.
Another school of thought argues the English construct of the constitution “as if it were”. They attributed this to mean “assume it is but it is not”.
Based on the petitions before the election tribunal, the Appeal and Supreme Courts will have an opportunity to clearly interpret the status of the FCT in this sort of scenario. Till then, the waiting game continues.
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