BREAKING: A’Court Refers Section 84(12) Of Electoral Act To S’Court For Interpretation
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has referred the appeal against Federal High Court ruling on Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022, to Supreme Court for interpretation
The Court said the appeal is a constitutional matter which only the apex court can resolve.
Recall that a Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State struck out Section 84(12) of the newly amended Electoral Act, 2022.
The lower court in a judgment delivered by Justice Evelyn Anyadike held that the section 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 1999 Constitution.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had while signing the amended Electoral Act 2022 into law, urged the National Assembly to delete the provision as it violated Constitution and breached the rights of political appointees.
The President further wrote a letter to both Chambers of the National Assembly seeking amendment by way of deleting the provision, an proposal the Senate rejected in plenary.
Justice Anyadike in the Suit marked FHC/UM/CS/26/2022 held that Sections 66(1)(f), 107(1)(f), 137(1)(f) and 182(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 and 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 1999 Constitution.
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