A Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State has ordered the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to immediately delete the contentious Section 84 (12) of the recently signed Electoral Act 2022.
The presiding judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike in her ruling held that the section 84 cannot stand on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and is in violation of the clear provisions of the 1999 constitution.
Recall that section 84 of the Electoral Act has been generating massive arguments from Nigerians as the provisions in the section bars political appointees from participating in any election.
The section reads, “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”.
President Muhammadu Buhari while signing the Electoral Bill into law last month had asked the National Assembly to delete section 84 (12), on the grounds that it amounts to the disenfranchisement of serving political office holders.
However, the Senate refused to consider the president’s request and threw out the bill seeking the amendment of the section, with lawmakers stressing that an amendment would be going against the civil service norms and would be injurious to the well-being of the society.
Meanwhile, in the suit marked FHC/UM/CS/26/2022, Justice Anyadike held that Sections 66(1)(f), 107(1)(f), 137(1)(f) and 182(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution has already stipulated that appointees of government seeking to contest elections are to resign at least 30 days to the date of the election.
She further ruled that any other law that mandated such appointees to resign or leave office at any time before that was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal null and void to the extent of its inconsistency to the clear provisions of the Constitution.
The Judge, thereafter, ordered the Attorney General of the Federation to forthwith delete the said sub-section 12 of Section 84 from the body of the Electoral Act, 2022.
