Appellate Court Upholds Validity of Section 84(12) of Electoral Act
- Bad news for political appointees vying for office, as the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of section 84(12) of the new Electoral Act
- Aspirants who are political appointees will now vacate their positions in a bid to contest for a political office at the 2023 polls
- Initial judgment by the Federal High Court voiding the provision of section 84(12) of the new Electoral Act was not considered jurisdictional
FCT, Abuja - The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, vacated the judgment of the Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State, which voided the provision of section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022, Vanguard newspaper reported.
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of Justices led by Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, held that the high court acted without jurisdiction.
Source: Facebook
The court stated that the plaintiff, Mr. Nduka Edede was unable to prove any premise that warranted him to table the case at the court.
Plaintiff unable to prove damage
The court also held that Mr. Edede did not in any way prove how the stipulations of section 84(12) of the newly approved Electoral Act were detrimental to him.
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Meanwhile, the court also stated that the said provision of the electoral law was unconstitutional because it is in breach of Section 42(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The court added that the section denied a class of Nigerian citizens their right to participate in an election.
It was gathered that the Federal High Court verdict prompted an appeal suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) marked: CA/OW/87/2022.
Recall that the provision of section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 caused a lot of stir when President Muhammadu Buhari after signing the bill became critical of some sections of the bill especially section 84(12).
As stipulated in section 84(12) of the new Electoral Act 2022 political appointees will have to resign their position before vying for any political office.
It reads:
“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.”
Senate probes CCT chairman Umar over alleged assault on security guard
In another development, the red chamber had commenced an investigation on the allegation levelled against the chairman of the CCT, Danladi Umar.
A security guard in Abuja, Clement Sagwak, alleged that he was assaulted by Umar on March 29, 2021.
Ahmad Lawan, the Senate president, said the committee would complete the probe within four weeks.
I answer to presidency not you - CCT chairman Umar tells NJC, others
The CCT chairman had said the activities of the Tribunal can only be controlled by the Nigerian presidency.
Umar said, unlike other judicial officials, he and his team at CCT are not answerable to bodies that regulate activities of the Nigerian judiciary.
The CCT chairman also presented a signed letter in which a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) said the officials of the Tribunal were not judges.
Source: Legit.ng
