Following the growing calls for the Judiciary to decide on the true winner of the 2023 Presidential election before the inauguration of the President-elect on May 29th.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said, if the reports of the BVAS Machine are made available and the results uploaded to the IReV, the Court can decide the election petition within 14 days.
In an interview with Arise Tv news, Falana clarified that the petition did not need to last for six months as stipulated in the constitution.
He argued that the existence of the BVAS technology and electronic transmission of results was not known when the laws were established, citing Ghana and Kenya’s examples of settling their election matters before the inauguration date.
Further, Falana emphasized the need for a reform to ensure election petitions are taken up directly by the Supreme Court and carried out in a more timely manner.
In most African countries, there is a constitutional court established explicitly for this purpose, and the process usually concludes within 14 days of the petition’s submission.
He strongly believes that the proper implementation of these systems would prevent legal battles and ensure that the will of the people is reflected correctly.
