Following the controversy trailing a court judgment on
section 84(12) of the amended Electoral Act last week, the Nigeria Senate will
on Wednesday consider a motion to that effect.
Justice Evelyn Anyadike, in a judgment, held that, that
Section of the Act was “unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of
no effect whatsoever and ought to be struck down as it cannot stand when it is
in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution.”
Consequently, the court ordered the Attorney General of the
Federation to “forthwith delete the said Subsection 12 of Section 84 from the
body of the Electoral Act.”
Justice Anyadike in the Suit FHC/UM/CS/26/2022 held that Sections 66(1), 107(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution already stipulated that appointees of government seeking to contest elections were only to resign at least 30 days to the date of the election.
According to her, any other law that mandates such
appointees to resign or leave the office at any time before that was
unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null and void to the extent of its
inconsistency with the clear provisions of the constitution.
However, coming under order 42 of the Senate Standing Orders
on Personal Explanation, Senator George Thompson Sekibo (PDP, Rivers East)
during plenary, challenged the judgment of the court on Section 84(12).
Citing Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended,
Sekibo said the National Assembly is empowered by virtue of its provisions to
make laws for the peace, order and good governance of Nigeria.
He added that Section 228 lists such functions to include
making laws to ensure internal democracy within political parties.
The section provides in part that, “the National Assembly
may by law provide guidelines and rules to ensure internal democracy within
political parties, including making laws for the conduct of party primaries,
party congresses and party conventions; and the conferment on the Independent
National Electoral Commission powers as may appear to the National Assembly to
be necessary or desirable for the purpose of enabling the Commission more
effectively to ensure that political parties observe the practices of internal
democracy, including the fair and transparent conduct of party primaries, party
congresses and party conventions.”
He argued further that the provisions of Section 318 of the
1999 Constitution clearly defines who a public servant is, without including
political appointees.
“I don’t have anything against the Judge, but Mr. President,
what is relied on in the judgment is not in tandem with the interpretation of
the Constitution.
“The Constitution defines for us who is a civil servant and
who is a public servant. It does not include political appointees.
“More so, Section 4 gives us the power to make good laws,
and in our mind, any law we make here is good law.
“Section 228 gives us also the power to make certain laws to
guard the Independent National Electoral Commission to effectively discharge
its functions.
“We felt that Section 84(12) as enshrined in the Electoral
Act assented to, is for the interest of the people and country.
“I don’t think that somebody should go to court without
joining the Senate or the House of Representatives where this law emanated
from, because we are the origin of the law before the President assented to it.
“If you think it is faulty, you either take us to court and
make us part of that case. We did not know, we were not told and they just went
there and got a judgment, destroying our work for over one year as if no one
here has the head to do any good thing”, Sekibo said.
The Deputy Senate President, thereafter, put the question
for a motion to be brought to the floor during plenary on Wednesday.
The voice vote received the overwhelming support of
lawmakers for the motion to be considered.
Omo-Agege explained that his decision for the motion to be
considered on Wednesday was to allow Senators absent during Tuesday’s plenary
to make their contributions when the matter is taken up by the chamber.
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