Electoral Act: Reps To Appeal Court Order Deleting Section 84 (12)

Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have resolved to appeal the court order which directed the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to remove Section 84 (12) of the newly signed Electoral Act.

Gatekeepers News reports that this comes after deliberation on the judgment during Wednesday’s plenary in the green chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.

The lawmakers, while insisting that the clause was directed at political appointees and not civil servants, said the court passed a judgement on a matter which was not included in the Electoral Act passed by the National Assembly.

They further questioned why the National Assembly was not joined as a respondent to the suit, adding that the action of the judge was an ‘aberration’.

The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, while hinting at writing a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) said he would not allow the National Assembly to be ridiculed.

Like his fellow lawmakers, Gbajabiamila queried why the judgement was obtained in faraway Abia State, insisting that only the National Assembly has the constitutional authority to alter any part of the legislation which it passed.

The Speaker, therefore, appealed to the AGF not to hastily implement the court judgement, and not to get into the legitimate functions of the National Assembly.

On February 25, President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the Electoral Act 2022, following a series of attempts by the National Assembly to amend the nation’s electoral laws.

President Buhari had, however, objected to the provisions of Section 84 (12), which read, “No political appointee at any level shall be voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”

Buhari believes this section constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at conventions or congresses of any political party, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the national election.

Although the President further asked the National Assembly to amend the section of the Act, the request was rejected by the lawmakers.

On Friday last week, Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State ordered the AGF to delete the section from the Act.

Justice Anyadike held that the section was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void, and of no effect whatsoever and could not stand, saying it was in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution.