₦airaland Forum

Op, you're wasting your time. APC already knows that the courts will sack them. What they are doing is simply to churn out lies and eschew fake confidence in the glare of the public. Their plan is to stage mass protests once they are sacked by the courts. Osunbor and co know what the constitution says. They are just propagating lies so that when they are sacked, they will supposedly have viable cause to promote mayhem.

APCNig:
Okay.

But can your 3rd Class Philosophy graduate calculate 25%? I doubt it.

In the same way, a druggie can understand that forfeiture by a USA court occasioned by plea bargaining is the same as pleading guilty / conviction.

NaijaCowFarm:
An election-rigging professor you mean?

I mean prof Osunbor who adequately shed light into the 25%FCT issue.

Tntsi:
Some of these our professors need to go for lectures at the table of chimamanda adichie.
It is disgusting to see respected elders turn white to black because of the ambition of a druggie.

He that knows not and knows that he knows but pretends to know is a big fool.

I stop reading the nonsesnse when the fool said the constitution gave Abuja residences Special status ... does is understand equality is the basis of democracy, does it mean make sense that after 36states voted Abuja will now decide overall, yakubu and ebuka in FCT are more Nigeria than me

He said Abuja is mini Nigeria, yet in the last 24yrs of our democracy very minister of FCT is an Hausa man.
if abuja is mini Nigeria why is FCT not rotating between tribes.
what about section 299 that address FCT for the purpose of election abuja shall be treated [i]as if [/i]it were one of the states of the federation.

Even people that can't make a point in there family meetings are online exhibiting brain backflip

PoliteActivist:
See how you talked yourself into a corner and can't conclude!

SO CONCLUDE!!

What does "not less than 25% in 2/3 of 36 States and FCT." mean??!!

Can't you people see that if you have to write a long essay with references to history before applying such a simple statement, that something is wrong?!

"Not less than 25% in 2/3 of 36 States and FCT" - the closest thing it can mean is: "Not less than 25% in 2/3 of 36 States; and not less than 25% in FCT"
Anything else, you'd have to write a looong essay, with references to history!

Nigeria is made up of 36 States and FCT.

Why is your comprehension fighting that reality.

Any reference to the totality of Nigeria is a reference to 36 States and FCT. That is 37 component units.

The rule is to secure 25% or more votes in 2/3 of the totality of Nigeria.

That is 2/3 in 36 States and FCT. That is 37 component units.

But you are a loser, so i do not find it weird that you have to keep hope alive.

StOla:
Nigeria is made up of 36 States and FCT.

Why is your comprehension fighting that reality.

Any reference to the totality of Nigeria is a reference to 36 States and FCT. That is 37 component units.

The rule is to secure 25% or more votes in 2/3 of the totality of Nigeria.

That is 2/3 in 36 States and FCT. That is 37 component units.

But you are a loser, so i do not find it weird that you have to keep hope alive.

He/she is still too ashamed to conclude.

So please sir/ma conclude: what is ⅔ of 37 component units??

Consider that there is NO LIMIT to number of words you can use in a constitution!!!
Something as important as a presidential election! You can take your time and expantiate as you wish.

They could have added, "Any state can be substitute for FCT". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have said, "⅔ total number of states, with FCT considered a state, and the result rounded up to the next whole nimber". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have simply said, "A candidate does not have to get ¼ in FCT to win the presidency", THEY DIDN’T

Instead what they wrote is (bearing in mind there is no limit to number of words they coukd use):

"⅔ of 36 States AND FCT"!!!!

And now you want us to accept that "36 States and FCT" is same as saying: "The whole of Nigeria". Did they tell you that's what they meant?? Why didn't they just say or add "The whole of Nigeria"?? What was stopping them??
So you see, sir/madam, you have no case!

PoliteActivist:
He/she is still too ashamed to conclude.

So please sir/ma conclude: what is ⅔ of 37 component units??

Consider that there is NO LIMIT to number of words you can use in a constitution!!!
Something as important as a presidential election! You can take your time and expantiate as you wish.

They could have added, "Any state can be substitute for FCT". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have said, "⅔ total number of states, with FCT considered a state, and the result rounded up to the next whole nimber". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have simply said, "A candidate does not have to get ¼ in FCT to win the presidency", THEY DIDN’T


Instead what they wrote is (bearing in mind there is no limit to number of words they coukd use):

"⅔ of 36 States AND FCT"!!!!

And now you want us to accept that "36 States and FCT" is same as saying: "The whole of Nigeria". Did they tell you that's what they meant?? Why didn't they just add "The whole of Nigeria"?? Whatcwas stopping them??
So you see sur/madam, you have no case!

The conclusion of 2/3 of 37 is 25 to the nearest whole number.

25 units out of 37 whole.

The 25 can be any 25 unit out of the 37.

So 25 States or 24 States and FCT.

Very straightforward except for the mentally handicapped.

Remember, I am not the one who divided Nigeria to be 36 States and FCT.

And the section of the law was referring to the total geographical composition of Nigeria.

Again to aid your comprehension, we all know that Nigeria is made up of 36 States and FCT.

Case closed!

APCNig:
Okay.

But can your 3rd Class Philosophy graduate calculate 25%? I doubt it.

When people are having serious discussion, you just jump in and utter absolute rubbish.
Oga, na wa for you o.

So many fake professors in APC.. Professor isonu.

StOla:
The conclusion of 2/3 of 37 is 25 to the nearest whole number.

25 units out of 37 whole.

The 25 can be any 25 unit out of the 37.

So 25 States or 24 States and FCT.

Very straightforward except for the mentally handicapped.

Remember, I am not the one who divided Nigeria to be 36 States and FCT.

So you finally overcame shame and embarrassment and actually stated the NONSENSICAL?!

WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION DID IT TELL YOU TO ROUND ANYTHING??

Give it up already!

PoliteActivist:
So you finally overcame shame and embarrassment and actually stated the NONSENSICAL?!

WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION DID IT TELL YOU TO ROUND ANYTHING??

Give it up already!

So you foolishly thought the divisions of Nigeria is predetermined so that you will arrive at a whole number whenever 2/3 of the totality of Nigeria is required?

What manner of Ignoramus are you?

So what happens when more States are created?

Or you think Nigeria was 36 States and FCT from independence?

I do not need the constitution to know that 2/3 of 37 is not a whole number, so any candidate who has 24 out of 37 is still below the benchmark.

Only 25 out of 37 would put any candidate above the benchmark.

Tinubu and APC already achieved 30 out of 37.

He stands validly elected.

Is this all the headless mob have left?

PoliteActivist:
Not only that, the drafters could have simply written:

"⅔ of 36 states, but FCT can substitute for a state"
OR
"25 states with FCT being counted as a state"

They didn't!!

Instead they effectively wrote:
"¼ in ⅔ of the 36 states, AND (PLUS) ¼ in FCT"!

We can't read their minds to know what they intended, but we can read and understand simple English, and that's exactly what they WROTE!!!

keep fooling around.Tinubu won clearly.How I wished Tinubu and Obi alone should have a rerun. The margin in favour of Tinubu will now be more than 10 million, because it is clear to all now that Peter Obi is Ipob agenda.

PoliteActivist:
Not only that, the drafters could have simply written:

"⅔ of 36 states, but FCT can substitute for a state"
OR
"25 states with FCT being counted as a state"

They didn't!!

Instead they effectively wrote:
"¼ in ⅔ of the 36 states , AND (PLUS) ¼ in FCT"!

We can't read their minds to know what they intended, but we can read and understand simple English, and that's exactly what they WROTE!!!

There is no comma before the AND in the written law you are referencing. That is your own addition.

Infact what you presented as law is your own edited version as I have highlighted starting with the comma.

If you know English, you would know there is a difference between AND after a comma versus AND without a preceeding comma.

Also there is no reason at all why they need to clarify for you what you already know that as at 1996 onwards, Nigeria is made up of 36 States and FCT.

None needs to substitute the other when describing the total geographical units that make up Nigeria.

Your own folly is not the folly of others.

Own your own folly.

No matter the straightforward or explicit phrasing of any country's constitution, there would always still be gray areas that need constitutional interpretation by the Supreme Court.

It is the case in every country with a constitution.

StOla:
So you foolishly thought the divisions of Nigeria is predetermined so that you will arrive at a whole number whenever 2/3 of the totality of Nigeria is required?

What manner of Ignoramus are you?

So what happens when more States are created?

Or you think Nigeria was 36 States and FCT from independence?

I do not need the constitution to know that 2/3 of 37 is not a whole number, so any candidate who has 24 out of 37 is still below the benchmark.

Only 25 out of 37 would put any candidate above the benchmark.

Tinubu and APC already achieved 30 out of 37.

He stands validly elected.

Why the insults on my person? To what end? Supporting something that is OBVIOUSLY faulty. Just accept that the constitution needs to be re-worded!
Which is obvious OR same issue will keep arising as it did in 1979!
Read the below historical precedent and compare it to your rambling submission:

Similar provision was made in the 1979 constitution.
Then we had 19 states and 2/3 of 19 is 12.667 (12 2/3). After the election Sagari had min 25% scored votes only in 12 states and was declared winner. Awolowo took him and FEDECO (Then INEC) to court.

The 13th state was the issue, which was Kano State. Shagari scored 243,423 votes, equivalent to 19.4% of the 1,220,763 total votes cast in Kano State.

Guess what? The Tribunal calculated the 0.667 (2/3) of the votes in Kano, then calculated 25% of it for Sagari, and Sagari votes was enough for that. That was how Sagari became President without a rerun.

StOla:
There is no comma before the AND in the written law you are referencing. That is your own addition.

Infact what you presented as law is your own edited version as I have highlighted starting with the comma.

If you know English, you would know there is a difference between AND after a comma versus AND without a preceeding comma.

Also there is no reason at all why they need to clarify for you what you already know that as at 1996 onwards, Nigeria is made up of 36 States and FCT.

None needs to substitute the other when describing the total geographical units that make up Nigeria.

Your own folly is not the folly of others.

Own your own folly.

No matter the straightforward or explicit phrasing of any country's constitution, there would always still be gray areas that need constitutional interpretation by the Supreme Court.

It is the case in every country with a constitution.

Do you know the meaning of the word "effectively"?
I wrote:

Instead they EFFECTIVELY wrote:
"¼ in ⅔ of the 36 states, AND (PLUS) ¼ in FCT"!

Same issue will keep arising until the constitution is re-worded. Just a few words in the constitution will avoid all this discussion but people like you are too blinded by narrow partisan interests to see beyond your nose!

PoliteActivist:
Why the insults on my person? To what end? Supporting something that is OBVIOUSLY faulty. Just accept that the constitution needs to be re-worded!
Which is obvious OR same issue will keep arising as it did in 1979!
Read the below historical precedent and compare it to your rambling submission:

Similar provision was made in the 1979 constitution.
Then we had 19 states and 2/3 of 19 is 12.667 (12 2/3). After the election Sagari had min 25% scored votes only in 12 states and was declared winner. Awolowo took him and FEDECO (Then INEC) to court.

The 13th state was the issue, which was Kano State. Shagari scored 243,423 votes, equivalent to 19.4% of the 1,220,763 total votes cast in Kano State.

Guess what? The Tribunal calculated the 0.667 (2/3) of the votes in Kano, then calculated 25% of it for Sagari, and Sagari votes was enough for that. That was how Sagari became President without a rerun.

That is why Shagari truly did not meet the requirements then as there can never be 12-2/3 but 13, which Shagari did not meet. Sadly the courts ruled in his favour rather than allow a 2nd ballot.

You made it seem like it was nonsensical to conclude that 2/3 of 37 is 25. Besides that is not even the issue in Tinubu's victory as he has more than enough states for that to even matter.

I have attached the text of the relevant section of the Constitution.

It stated the conditions and stated the sample area from which the condition needs to be met.

That sample area is all of Nigeria (36 States and FCT, without any comma or without restating the condition to refer exclusively to FCT as a separation criteria.

PoliteActivist:
Do you know the meaning of the word "effectively"?
I wrote:

Instead they EFFECTIVELY wrote:
"¼ in ⅔ of the 36 states, AND (PLUS) ¼ in FCT"!

Same issue will keep arising until the constitution is re-worded. Just a few words in the constitution will avoid all this discussion but people like you are too blinded by narrow partisan interests to see beyond your nose!

You are the partisan one here who even restructured the section of the Constitution to support your position.

If what you wrote is how it is written, then Tinubu would need 25% in FCT but could argue it as a constitutional matter that it was wrong since no electoral college exist in Nigeria and that the voters in 1 unit out of 37 are not more important than to the other 36 units.

But it is not even written the way you have presented it.

The way it is written is indicative of all that make up Nigeria which is 36 states and FCT, is the catchment area from which the candidates need to get 2/3 at 25% votes or more.

And that might explain your own self inflicted misinformation in this debate.

StOla:
You are the partisan one here who even restructured the section of the Constitution to support your position.

If what you wrote is how it is written, then Tinubu would need 25% in FCT but could argue it as a constitutional matter that it was wrong since no electoral college exist in Nigeria and that the voters in 1 unit out of 37 are not more important than to the other 36 units.

But it is not even written the way you have presented it.

The way it is written is indicative of all that make up Nigeria which is 36 states and FCT, is the catchment area from which the candidates need to get 2/3 at 25% votes or more.

And that might explain your own self inflicted misinformation in this debate.

Seems I am discussing with someone who doesn't have proper grasp of English language. You don't know what "effectively" means

Here's my statement again. Focus on the word "effectively":-

Consider that there is NO LIMIT to number of words you can use in a constitution!!!
Something as important as a presidential election! You can take your time and expantiate as you wish.

They could have added, "Any state can be substitute for FCT". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have said, "25 states with FCT being counted as a state" THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have said, "⅔ total number of states, with FCT considered a state, and the result rounded up to the next whole nimber". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have simply said, "A candidate does not have to get ¼ in FCT to win the presidency", THEY DIDN’T

Instead what they EFFECTIVELY wrote is:

"⅔ of 36 States, AND (PLUS) FCT"!

And someone is here arguing it is perfect!
- and comming up with all sorts of convoluted fractions and rounding ups!

Instead of stating the OBVIOUS INTERPRETATION (the ONE interpretation that avoids all that) - IT MEANS WHAT IT SAYS - ¼ in ⅔ of 36 states; AND ¼ IN FCT!!!!

StOla:
That is why Shagari truly did not meet the requirements then as there can never be 12-2/3 but 13, which Shagari did not meet. Sadly the courts ruled in his favour rather than allow a 2nd ballot.

You made it seem like it was nonsensical to conclude that 2/3 of 37 is 25. Besides that is not even the issue in Tinubu's victory as he has more than enough states for that to even matter.

I have attached the text of the relevant section of the Constitution.

It stated the conditions and stated the sample area from which the condition needs to be met.

That sample area is all of Nigeria (36 States and FCT, without any comma or without restating the condition to refer exclusively to FCT as a separation criteria.

You don't have to confuse people and yourself. Simple, the constitution says:
"at least 25% in ⅔ of 36 states and FCT"

That's all anybody needs to know. And that wording is FAULTY and needs to be changed or added to. It is not about Tinubu or Shagari, it is about avoiding having this same discussion on the future!

NaijaCowFarm:
This is a response to the topic that made the front page with the title “Prof Osunbor: No Place In Constitution That Says You Must Score 25% In FCT” with the link below: https://www.nairaland.com/7653249/prof-osunbor-no-place-constitution.

I am therefore hoping that the Nairaland moderators would be magnanimous enough to push this rejoinder or correction to the front page as well.

Firstly, let me make this clear When a lie is repeated so many times, people tend to believe it as the truth. This we have seen in APC in the past and they have not changed.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (section 134 subsections 1 & 2) states as follows:
“Section 134
1. A candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have been duly elected, where, there being only two candidates for the election a. he has the majority 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.
2. A candidate for an election to the office of 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 each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja”

Now, let me educate the professor and some of his few fans that FCT is conferred a special status by the Nigeria constitution.
I will treat this topic with the following subheads. I could merge some of these into one subhead to reduce the length of the discourse

i. The President is the Governor of FCT while the National Assembly is the legislative assembly (Section 301) and the president governs the t by proxy (Section 302) and appoints the Chief Judge of the FCT (Section 256:1 &2)

ii. The FCT is deemed a mini or little Nigeria (Section 2: 2)

iii. The FCT is NOT a federating state (Section 3:1)

iv. FCT has one Senator, other federating states have three senators each (Section 48)

v. All Federating states have a Governor, a legislative assembly, and a judiciary, with the Chief Judge appointed by the governor

1. The President is the "Governor of FCT" while the National Assembly is the legislative assembly (Section 301) and he governs the FCT by proxy (Section 302) and appoints the Chief Judge of the FCT (Section 256:1 &2)

For anyone to be governor of a state, you MUST be elected by a majority of votes cast and score ¼ of at least 2/3 of the LGAs in the state. This is the provision of Section 179 of the Nigerian Constitution. Taken in the same context, the president CANNOT be elected without having 1/4 of FCT votes, Take note that by the provisions of Sections 256 (1&2), 301 and 302, state that the President is deemed to be governor of the FCT. He appoints a minister to govern on his behalf. So, just like a governor cannot be elected unless he fulfills the requirements of sections 178 and 179, the president MUST fulfill the requirement of ¼ of the votes in the FCT to be elected as its governor. This is the context with which Section 134 (2) was written and it is not ambiguous and does not need a professor to teach us what the constitution means by adding a conjunction[b] AND[/b]

The FCT as a mini-Nigeria and Not a Federating state (Sections2 &3). The Constitution states "Nigeria shall be a Federation consisting of States and [b]a Federal Capital Territory". [/b]

The constitution envisaged a situation where a presidential candidate may win in his region tribe or zone but only pick some votes in other regions due to tribal and religious inclination, hence to be a president of Nigeria, you MUST have been voted for by ¼ of miniature Nigeria, the FCT. The fact here is that whereas some states are ethnically dominated, the FCT is assumed to provide equal representations of each of the Federating States of Nigeria, This confers to the voters of FCT a SPECIAL STATUS. Quite unlike the professor tried to "teach" us.

The FCT is NOT a federating state but rather deemed a State ONLY for the purposes of GOVERNANCE.
Hence Nigeria DOES NOT have 37 states as being wrongfully portrayed for selfish reasons

All the federating states are listed in Section 3:1, but the FCT is not listed there. So, to understand the provisions of Section 299, you need to read in context the section and the subsequent subsections. You cannot just pick and chose, but read to understand the intent of the section.
Unlike the FCT, which is the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, each state has a capital. Section 3:3 states “The headquarters of the Governor of each State shall be known as the Capital City of that State as shown in the third column of the said Part I of the First Schedule opposite the State named in the first column thereof”. Here is the catch, to be elected as governor, you need to score 25% in 2/3 of the LGAs of the state. The constitution does not recognize the State Capital as it recognized the FCT for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This clearly confers on the FCT voter a SPECIAL STATUS

The misconception of Section 299 shows that some of our lawyers need to be re-educated. With all due respect, let us examine Section 299. It states as follows:
299. The provisions of this Constitution shall apply to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as if it were one of the States of the Federation; and accordingly –
a. all the legislative powers, the executive powers and the judicial powers vested in the House of Assembly, the Governor of a State and in the courts of a State shall, respectively, vest in the National Assembly, the President of the Federation and in the courts which by virtue of the foregoing provisions are courts established for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;
b. all the powers referred to in paragraph (a) of this section shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution; and
c. the provisions of this Constitution pertaining to the matters aforesaid shall be read with such modifications and adaptations as may be reasonably necessary to bring them into conformity with the provisions of this section.
Even a not too educated person would know that the above provision DOES NO[/b]T confer on FCT the status of a federating state. Hence the argument that Nigeria has 37 states is clearly [b]FALSE.

F[b]CT has one Senator, other federating states have three senators each (Section 48) and 2HOR members. [/b]
No need to belabor this topic, it simply shows that FCT has a SPECIAL STATUS because all other states have 3 senators.

So, with all due respect, someone needs to tell Professor Osunbor that he was wrong, because, if his student had put up this argument in an exam, he would probably have failed him/her.

You have obviously turned reasoning on its head.

If you feel you know too much, i will suggest you join the Legal team of PitObi and go argue your point at the tribunal. You are d one repeating lies not the other way round.

Why dont we allow d judiciary to do their work?

NaijaCowFarm:
This is a response to the topic that made the front page with the title “Prof Osunbor: No Place In Constitution That Says You Must Score 25% In FCT” with the link below: https://www.nairaland.com/7653249/prof-osunbor-no-place-constitution.

I am therefore hoping that the Nairaland moderators would be magnanimous enough to push this rejoinder or correction to the front page as well.

Firstly, let me make this clear When a lie is repeated so many times, people tend to believe it as the truth. This we have seen in APC in the past and they have not changed.

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (section 134 subsections 1 & 2) states as follows:
“Section 134
1. A candidate for an election to the office of President shall be deemed to have been duly elected, where, there being only two candidates for the election a. he has the majority 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.
2. A candidate for an election to the office of 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 each of at least two-thirds of all the States in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja”

Now, let me educate the professor and some of his few fans that FCT is conferred a special status by the Nigeria constitution.
I will treat this topic with the following subheads. I could merge some of these into one subhead to reduce the length of the discourse

i. The President is the Governor of FCT while the National Assembly is the legislative assembly (Section 301) and the president governs the t by proxy (Section 302) and appoints the Chief Judge of the FCT (Section 256:1 &2)

ii. The FCT is deemed a mini or little Nigeria (Section 2: 2)

iii. The FCT is NOT a federating state (Section 3:1)

iv. FCT has one Senator, other federating states have three senators each (Section 48)

v. All Federating states have a Governor, a legislative assembly, and a judiciary, with the Chief Judge appointed by the governor

1. The President is the "Governor of FCT" while the National Assembly is the legislative assembly (Section 301) and he governs the FCT by proxy (Section 302) and appoints the Chief Judge of the FCT (Section 256:1 &2)

For anyone to be governor of a state, you MUST be elected by a majority of votes cast and score ¼ of at least 2/3 of the LGAs in the state. This is the provision of Section 179 of the Nigerian Constitution. Taken in the same context, the president CANNOT be elected without having 1/4 of FCT votes, Take note that by the provisions of Sections 256 (1&2), 301 and 302, state that the President is deemed to be governor of the FCT. He appoints a minister to govern on his behalf. So, just like a governor cannot be elected unless he fulfills the requirements of sections 178 and 179, the president MUST fulfill the requirement of ¼ of the votes in the FCT to be elected as its governor. This is the context with which Section 134 (2) was written and it is not ambiguous and does not need a professor to teach us what the constitution means by adding a conjunction[b] AND[/b]

The FCT as a mini-Nigeria and Not a Federating state (Sections2 &3). The Constitution states "Nigeria shall be a Federation consisting of States and [b]a Federal Capital Territory". [/b]

The constitution envisaged a situation where a presidential candidate may win in his region tribe or zone but only pick some votes in other regions due to tribal and religious inclination, hence to be a president of Nigeria, you MUST have been voted for by ¼ of miniature Nigeria, the FCT. The fact here is that whereas some states are ethnically dominated, the FCT is assumed to provide equal representations of each of the Federating States of Nigeria, This confers to the voters of FCT a SPECIAL STATUS. Quite unlike the professor tried to "teach" us.

The FCT is NOT a federating state but rather deemed a State ONLY for the purposes of GOVERNANCE.
Hence Nigeria DOES NOT have 37 states as being wrongfully portrayed for selfish reasons

All the federating states are listed in Section 3:1, but the FCT is not listed there. So, to understand the provisions of Section 299, you need to read in context the section and the subsequent subsections. You cannot just pick and chose, but read to understand the intent of the section.
Unlike the FCT, which is the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, each state has a capital. Section 3:3 states “The headquarters of the Governor of each State shall be known as the Capital City of that State as shown in the third column of the said Part I of the First Schedule opposite the State named in the first column thereof”. Here is the catch, to be elected as governor, you need to score 25% in 2/3 of the LGAs of the state. The constitution does not recognize the State Capital as it recognized the FCT for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This clearly confers on the FCT voter a SPECIAL STATUS

The misconception of Section 299 shows that some of our lawyers need to be re-educated. With all due respect, let us examine Section 299. It states as follows:
299. The provisions of this Constitution shall apply to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as if it were one of the States of the Federation; and accordingly –
a. all the legislative powers, the executive powers and the judicial powers vested in the House of Assembly, the Governor of a State and in the courts of a State shall, respectively, vest in the National Assembly, the President of the Federation and in the courts which by virtue of the foregoing provisions are courts established for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;
b. all the powers referred to in paragraph (a) of this section shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution; and
c. the provisions of this Constitution pertaining to the matters aforesaid shall be read with such modifications and adaptations as may be reasonably necessary to bring them into conformity with the provisions of this section.
Even a not too educated person would know that the above provision DOES NO[/b]T confer on FCT the status of a federating state. Hence the argument that Nigeria has 37 states is clearly [b]FALSE.

F[b]CT has one Senator, other federating states have three senators each (Section 48) and 2HOR members. [/b]
No need to belabor this topic, it simply shows that FCT has a SPECIAL STATUS because all other states have 3 senators.

So, with all due respect, someone needs to tell Professor Osunbor that he was wrong, because, if his student had put up this argument in an exam, he would probably have failed him/her.

Very illogical write up.. So how come the 36 states are voting the members of the house of assembly for your so called FCT.. The FCT residents get to vote for only 1 out of 109 senator who will make laws for it that is even less than 1% of votes needed to vote in members for the house of assembly in FCT...

2.. This whole 25% is a must is so foolish that i ask in all the 36 states, the all have the equivalent of FCT which is the state capital... Please show me 1 state where when deciding in the governorship you count compulsorily 25% in capital. And without the capital the person who doesn't score 25% in the capital person doesn't become governor.. The normal way is 25% in 2/3 of all the LGA in the state and majority of lawful votes caste to be governor. So like my state imo with 27 LGA All u need is score 25% in 18 LGA whether owerri municipal LGA is inside your 18 LGA or not you have met the requirements.. That is exactly how it works at federal level too.... I am sure if u check obi first term as governor, u might be surprised he did not win awka and did not score 25% in awka which is the capital of Anambra.. And he was governor for 8 years

If you were this brilliant, perhaps, you wld have become a judge.

Being a very good lawyer does make you a better judge.

Softmirror:
25% FCT IS THE SONG DIS ONES GO SING TILL AFTER MAY 29 BEFORE THE LOOK FOR ANOTHER SONG TO BE SINGING AGAIN.

haha....exactly....fact remains tinubu got most votes in entire nigeria....
obi people have nothing to argue....obi didnt even get second most votes....

if somebody wan even argue anything,it should be actualy atiku and not obi....

anyways,we are waitin for their return to their modus operandi....:
biafra of death....

PoliteActivist:
Seems I am discussing with someone who doesn't have proper grasp of English language. You don't know what "effectively" means

Here's my statement again. Focus on the word "effectively":-

Consider that there is NO LIMIT to number of words you can use in a constitution!!!
Something as important as a presidential election! You can take your time and expantiate as you wish.

They could have added, "Any state can be substitute for FCT". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have said, "25 states with FCT being counted as a state" THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have said, "⅔ total number of states, with FCT considered a state, and the result rounded up to the next whole nimber". THEY DIDN'T!!

They could have simply said, "A candidate does not have to get ¼ in FCT to win the presidency", THEY DIDN’T

Instead what they EFFECTIVELY wrote is:

"⅔ of 36 States, AND (PLUS) FCT"!

And someone is here arguing it is perfect!
- and comming up with all sorts of convoluted fractions and rounding ups!

Instead of stating the OBVIOUS INTERPRETATION (the ONE interpretation that avoids all that) - IT MEANS WHAT IT SAYS - ¼ in ⅔ of 36 states; AND ¼ IN FCT!!!!

Again, the highlighted is your own partisan edit to a written constitution.

36 States and FCT is the totality of Nigeria and the intended catchment area for the 25% in 2/3 condition that is written once for that subsection to apply at once to 36 States and FCT.

Not a condition to apply to 36 States, and same condition to apply separately to FCT.

Case closed!

StOla:
Again, the highlighted is your own partisan edit to a written constitution.

36 States and FCT is the totality of Nigeria and the intended catchment area for the 25% in 2/3 condition that is written once for that subsection to apply at once to 36 States and FCT.

Not a condition to apply to 36 States, and same condition to apply separately to FCT.

Case closed!

So it is settled - you don't know the meaning of the word "effectively".

Moving on, are you a mind-reader, or did you talk to the drafters??
As human beings we can't read minds but we can read and understand simple English. Here are things we are SURE of: "⅔ of 36 and FCT" does NOT mean "⅔ of 37".
Neither does it mean "⅔ of 36 but FCT can substitute"
Neither does it mean "⅔ of 36 mixed with FCT", which is nonsensical.

The ONLY reasonable thing it can mean is "⅔ of 36; AND (PLUS) FTC" !!!
Bottom line: we all need to work together to change the wording in the constitution for sake of future generations.
This is my last response to you.
Nice chatting with you.
One Love