The Senate will on Wednesday debate a motion on the ruling of the Abia State High Court ordering the deletion of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act passed by the National Assembly.
The Senate’s decision follows a point of order moved by Senator George Sekibo during Tuesday’s plenary questioning the High court’s ruling.
Senator Sekibo said the court erred in its ruling which negates the principle of separation of powers.
He argued that the Constitution gives the National Assembly powers to make laws and guide the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the conduct of elections.
The Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State had on Friday ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation to immediately delete Section 84 (12) of the amended Electoral Act.
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Justice Evelyn Anyadike held that the section was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void, and of no effect whatsoever and cannot stand, as it is in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution.
The section says: “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”.
In the suit marked FHC/UM/CS/26/2022, Justice Anyadike further stated 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 the 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 Constitution.
