Senior lawyers in the country have warned political appointees seeking elective offices against disobeying the provisions of section 84(12) of the Electoral Act (2022).
Political appointees who fail to resign before seeking election offices stand the risk of losing their seats after being elected, they warned.
They noted that the decision of the court remains the position of the law, even though some of them expressed divergent views, saying the final determination of the matter, which is already an appeal pending before the Court of Appeal, would be made known when the Supreme Court makes its pronouncement on it.
The said section of the Electoral Act provides that all political appointees vying for elective positions should resign at least one year before the election.
But a Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State, on March 18, 2022, ordered the AGF to deplete section 84(12) of the newly amended Electoral Act.
President Muhammadu Buhari had also written to the National Assembly, asking it to delete the controversial clause.
The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Evelyn Anyadike, held that the section was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever.
Accordingly, he ordered that the section should be struck down, as it cannot stand when it is in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution.
President Buhari, while signing the amended Electoral Act, urged the National Assembly to delete the provision as it violated the constitution and breached the rights of government appointees.
The president further wrote a letter to both Chambers of the National Assembly seeking amendment by way of deleting the provision an amendment the Senate rejected in plenary.
But speaking with LEADERSHIP exclusively yesterday, Abdul Balogun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the judgement of the court remains the position of the law.
According to him, until that judgement is set aside by a superior court of record, the section cannot operate in the Electoral Law.
”The judgement of the court in Umuahia, remains the position of the law and nothing can change that until a higher court sets it aside. Since the case is on appeal, we should await the outcome and the consequences on political appointees who fail to resign, if the judgement is set aside”, Balogun said.
Also, a constitutional lawyer, Barrister Anslem Oko, agreed with the position of the senior advocate.
According to him, the law, as it stands today, is that anyone holding one appointment or the other should resign one month before the appointment.
He said that was the position of the law before the amended Electoral Act 2022 was passed into law.
”The position of the law before the Amended Electoral Law is that anyone holding any appointment and wishing to contest an elective position must resign one month before the election.
”The Amended Electoral Act gives political appointees one year to resign before the election. With the judgement of the court, the position of the law is the judgement of Justice Anyadike,” he stated.
On his part, an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Chief Nicholas U. Agwueke, said to be on the safe side, any political appointee seeking elective position should resign.
Such a political appointee, he noted, would save himself from embarrassment once the case is decided one way or the other.
”The wisest thing to do now from any political appointee is to resign, if they don’t want to be caught by that section once the case is decided one way or the other,” he said.
Also, Adolphus Esin, another lawyer, said the court should expedite action on the case before it so that the next election will not witness disruption.
”I want to believe this case will be decided before the next general election so that everyone will know where he or she belongs,” he said.
Culled from Leadership
