The states have filed a suit before the Supreme Court, asking it to declare that the process of the election was not in compliance with the electoral act and that the nationwide failure to electronically transmit results from polling units runs foul of multiple provisions of the electoral law. The governors of the six states are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose candidate, Atiku Abubakar, came second in the election, while President-elect Bola Tinubu won.
The states are seeking a declaration that the entire process of the presidential and national parliamentary elections did not comply with legal provisions and should be holistically reviewed with original result sheets signed at polling units.
The suit also seeks to nullify the result of the presidential election and declare it of no effect, a pronouncement that will effectively nullify the declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission, which named Mr Tinubu the winner of the election.
According to the court documents, "the entire results of the Presidential Election conducted on the 25th of February 2023 announced by the Chairman of INEC at the National Collation Centre, Abuja, in flagrant violation of the provisions of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the Presidential Election, were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever."
Mike Ozekhome, the attorney for the states, asserted that the agents and officials of the federal government and INEC disregarded the requirements of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of the Elections 2022, and the INEC Manual for Election Officials by failing to transmit the collated results using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which is a flagrant violation of the applicable laws.