Professor Ben Nwabueze has questioned the legality of the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari, candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the 2019 presidential election in Nigeria by the Chairman of the Independent National Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
Professor Nwabueze noted that the INEC relied on partial fulfillment of the constitution in the declaration of Buhari as winner of the presidential election, noting that INEC Chairman, Yakubu, showed biases and partiality in favour of Buhari and the APC in making the decision. He counseled the INEC to take necessary action to review that decision.
“I think the declaration and certification are invalid in law. Do the declaration and certification not manifest undue bias and partiality for Buhari on the part of INEC Chairman as well as an anxious desire for the President’s victory?
“Please consider and take action as you may consider necessary and appropriate,” Professor Nwabueze declared.
The Professor had made reference to the appearance of the Chairman of INEC on the television Wednesday morning to declare and certify Buhari as winner of the 2019 Presidential election based SOLELY on the fact that he scored the “highest” number of votes cast at the election. Professor Nwabueze asked, “did the declaration and certification comply with section 134(2) of the Constitution which provides as follows:
“a candidate for an election to the office of the President shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being more than two candidates for the election –
(a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election, and
(b) he has not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”
He protested that the INEC Chairman’s declaration and certification were based solely on section 134(2)(a)), and said nothing at all on whether sub-section 2(b) has been complied with.
“I am concerned with the validity of the declaration and certification as a legal requirement, not with the question whether sub-section 2(b) has in fact been complied with,” Nwabueze stated inter alia.
