By In what may be considered a big win for political appointees seeking elective positions, a Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State, has ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation to delete Section 84(10) of the amended Electoral Act.
President Muhammadu Buhari had asked the National Assembly to amend the rather controversial clause when he gave his assent to the electoral amendment bill on February 25 — a request that was later rejected by the Senate on March 9.
“No political appointee at any level shall be a 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,” it reads.
Delivering the judgement on Friday, Justice Evelyn Anyadike ruled that the section was “unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever”.
According to the judge, it must be struck off as it cannot stand when “as it is in violation of the clear provisions of the constitution.”
As expected, there have been different reactions from the political space and beyond on the court judgement. The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, through his spokesperson, had said his office will immediately effect the decision of the court in line with the dictates of the law.
Reacting to the ruling, spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu told journalists on Friday, that the lower legislative chamber is yet to receive the certified true copy of the judgment.
Kalu, however, noted that the intention of the section was to “give a level playing ground for those who have been in government not to use the undue advantage of being in government while running for an office”.
Speaking with The PUNCH, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Robert Emukpoeruo described the judgement as “odd”, citing the involvement of the Attorney-General in the case.
“He did not oppose the case; he supported it. He was almost sounding like it was an ‘arrangee’ case. Mr (Abubakar) Malami has invested interest in having that section removed. That is what he is expected to do in that situation. The National Assembly is not even a party to the suit. They would have to seek to appeal as a personal interest in the case,” Emukpoeruo who was a member of the technical committee that drafted the Electoral Act, was quoted as saying.
