The Federal Government is ready to quickly enforce a court ruling that on Friday annulled the new section 84 (12) of the Electoral Law of 2022, said the Federation Attorney General, Abubakar Malami.
In what appears to have ruled out the possibility of filing an appeal against the sentence, Mr. Malami explained that the verdict would be carried out by publishing the Electoral Law with the “offensive provision” removed.
Malami’s reaction contained in a statement by his spokesman, Umar Gwandu, came just hours after the Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia state, struck down the new provision on Friday.
The new legal provision had prohibited political appointees from voting as delegates at party conventions or congresses for the election or nomination of candidates.
A lawyer and senior member of the Action Alliance (AA), one of Nigeria’s fringe political parties, Nduka Edede, had filed a lawsuit in court challenging the constitutionality of the provision, with the Federal Attorney General as the defendant.
Delivering her judgment on the lawsuit on Friday, Evelyn Ayandike agreed with the plaintiff that the provision conflicted with the rights of Nigerian citizens guaranteed by the constitution.
He noted that Nigeria’s constitution already has a provision requiring government appointees seeking to participate in elections to resign at least 30 days before the election date.
Therefore, the judge ruled, any other law that compels such appointees to resign or leave office at any time before that “is unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null and void,” to the extent of its incompatibility with the clear provisions of the Constitution.
Ordered the Attorney General of the Federation, immediately, to eliminate the aforementioned article 84.12 from the body of the Electoral Law of 2022.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the decision aligns with President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent protest against the provision.
The sentence offers a great relief to Mr. Buhari, whose request to remove the provision from the newly amended Electoral Law was rejected by the Senate earlier this month.
It was also a reprieve for members of the president’s cabinet, including Mr Malami, who speculated they saw the disputed ballot provision as a threat to their political ambitions ahead of the 2023 general election.
How the sentence will be enforced – Malami
Malami praised the sentence on Friday.
“The Attorney General’s Office of the Federation and Minister of Justice, consequently, will comply with the judicial sentence in accordance with the dictates of the law and the spirit of the sentence,” said the statement from the minister’s spokesperson.
He added that with the ruling, section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 is no longer part of Nigerian law.
“The ruling of the court will be recognized by government printers when printing the Electoral Act.
“The Law will be published taking into account the effect of the sentence and eliminating the constitutionally offensive provision accordingly.
“The provision of Section 84 (12) of the Election Act of 2022 is not part of our law and will be treated accordingly,” the statement also stated.
The speed with which Malami has promised to enforce the sentence contrasts sharply with the Buhari administration’s reputation for little regard for judicial decisions.
But Malami justified the move being taken to enforce Friday’s sentence by citing supporting constitutional provisions.
“This is in line with the dictates of Chapter 7, Part 4, Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) on the execution of decisions which establishes the duty and obligation of all authorities and persons of enforcing the sentence of the Federal High Court, among others,” the statement said.
Both the plaintiff who initiated the suit and Mr. Malami, who appears to be the only defendant in the case, agree with the sentence, it may well be considered that there would be no appeal against the verdict.
A third party who is not involved in the case in the trial court and suddenly shows an interest in filing an appeal against the verdict will have to overcome a legal hurdle to obtain permission from the court to file such an appeal.
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Buhari protest, AA party member outfit
Mr. Buhari, after signing the bill, wrote the National Assembly requesting that the provision be eliminated from the Electoral Law.
It argued in the request that the provision constituted a deprivation of the right to vote of the holders of political positions in service to vote or be voted in conventions or congresses of any political party, with the purpose of nominating candidates for any election, in the cases in which to be held within 30 days for the national elections.
Subsequently, Mr. Edede of the AA filed his claim in the Umuahia Federal High Court to seek the proper interpretation of Section 84(12) of the New Electoral Law.
Mr. Edede, through his counsel, urged the court to determine whether Section 84(12), when read in conjunction with Sections 66(1)(f), 107(1)(f)(137(1 )(f) and 182(1) ) (f) of the 1999 Constitution, was not incompatible.
His case was confirmed by the court on Friday.
But Friday’s ruling came less than two weeks after another judge at the same court’s Abuja division, Inyang Ekwo, barred President Buhari, the AGF and the National Assembly from tampering with the recently amended 2022 Election Law.
Ekwo, ruling on an ex parte application of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), argued that the Electoral Law converted into current law could not be altered without following due process of law.