Nigeria to decide on Tinubu’s term after election dispute

Nigeria to decide on Tinubu’s presidential term after election dispute

Nigeria’s election tribunal will decide this week regarding Bola Tinubu’s win in the presidential election. Two rivals had disputed Tinubu’s win in February’s election. 

Previously, several Nigerian presidential elections have faced legal challenges. However, they have not always won the cases. According to analysts, the election tribunal will probably rule in Tinubu’s favour.

Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi from the People’s Democratic Party and the Labour Party have asked the Nigerian court to invalidate the election results. There are allegations of irregularities and that the election commission disregarded laws. Electronic machines were not used to upload polling results. 

The tribunal ruling will be declared in Abuja. The tribunal has the power to cancel the results of an election and announce a new one. Another recourse is there if the previous results are upheld. 

Atiku and Obi can appeal to the Supreme Court if they are not satisfied with the results. However, the appeal should be done within 60 days of the tribunal’s judgment. The military has set up checkpoints and random security checks in Abuja, ahead of the results. 

Tinubu is in India for the G20 summit. He has repeatedly defended his victory in the presidential elections. Tinubu states that he is focused on revitalizing the economy of the country. His measures to boost the economy include cutting down on a popular but expensive gasoline subsidy and ending currency control. 

However, getting the country to accept these measures has been hard on Tinubu. He faced opposition from labour unions during a two-day strike. The strike could continue for an indefinite period. 

Obstacles faced by Nigeria

Nigeria has faced several obstacles since the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Slow growth, high unemployment, sky-high inflation, massive debt, and oil theft are the reasons for low government revenues and social insecurity. Tinubu is left to combat these issues during his term as president. 

Tinubu requires public support to smooth out these obstacles. However, he received 8.79 votes, the lowest a presidential candidate has received since 1999.