Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde said Nigeria’s flawed constitution enabled President Bola Tinubu to win the 2023 presidential election.
Mr Makinde argued that Mr Tinubu would not have emerged as the winner if the constitution required a candidate to secure at least 51 per cent of the total votes cast.
The governor said he would champion a constitutional amendment to introduce the requirement if elected president in the forthcoming election.
The governor told Arise News that 67 per cent of Nigerians voted against Mr Tinubu, who secured 8.79 million votes in the 2023 election. His opponents, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, polled 6.98 million, 6.1 million and 1.5 million votes, respectively.
Combined, the three opposition candidates secured more than 14 million votes, significantly outnumbering Mr Tinubu’s votes.
But Mr Tinubu met the constitutional requirement of securing at least 25 per cent of the votes in 25 of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, as stipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“If we had gotten 50 per cent plus one in our constitution, it would have been almost impossible for Asiwaju to become president of Nigeria, or if even he would still become the president, you have to negotiate with the rest of the country,” Mr Makinde said.
Campaigning under the Allied Peoples Movement, Mr Makinde said he would push for an amendment requiring presidential candidates to secure more than half of the total votes cast to win.
Mr Makinde said the constitution currently requires a presidential candidate to secure the highest number of votes and at least 35 per cent of votes cast in two-thirds of the states and the FCT.
“What we’ve seen is 67 per cent voted against him and his party, but he became the president because our constitution basically allowed that,” he said.
