The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking an injunction to restrain the national assembly from any further amendment to the newly signed Electoral Act 2022.
Joined in the suit with President Muhammadu Buhari, along with other defendants, are the Attorney-General of the Federation, (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Senate President, Speaker, House of Representatives, Clerk of the National Assembly, Senate Leader, House of Representatives Leader and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Also joined as defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/247/2022 are Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Deputy Senate Leader, and Deputy House of Representatives Leader.
The PDP, in the suit filed on its behalf by Chief James Ogwu Onoja, (SAN), is praying for: “an order of the court stopping the National Assembly from giving effect to President Buhari’s request to expunge section 84 (12) from the Electoral Act or take any step that will make the provision inoperative pending the resolution of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
“An order of interim injunction restraining Buhari and other defendants from refusing to implement the duly signed Electoral Act or in any manner withholding the Electoral Act from being put to use, including the provisions of section 84 (12) of the said Act pending the resolution of the suit.”
The party, in a supportive affidavit, argued that President Muhammadu Buhari having assented to the bill on February 25, 2022, cannot give any directive to the National Assembly to take immediate steps to expunge Section 84(12) or any other section of the Act on any ground whatsoever.
Recall that President Buhari had last week Monday, written to the senate to amend the new Electoral Act 2022.
The president had in a letter addressed to the senate president, Ahmad Lawan, and read at the plenary on Tuesday, asked the lawmakers to consider the outright deletion of Section 84 (12).
President Buhari stated that the provision amounted to the disenfranchisement of political appointees.
President Buhari while signing the Electoral Bill into law, had highlighted the need to amend the section which contravenes the rights of political office holders to vote or be voted for in political party conventions and congresses.
“Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly, from the review it is my perspective that the substance of the Bill is both reformative and progressive.
“This, however, cannot be said about one provision as contained in the proposed Bill, which provision constitutes fundamental defect, as it is in conflict with extant constitutional provisions.
“Section 84 (12) constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at Conventions or Congresses of any political party, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the National Election,” Buhari had said in a statement issued by his media Spokesman, Femi Adesina.
Quoting the section, “84(12) No political appointee at any level shall be voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the nomination of candidates for any election”, the President noted it had introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that ultra vires the Constitution by way of importing blanket restriction and disqualification to serving political office holders of which they are constitutionally accorded protection.”
The president noted that “The practical application of section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 will, if assented to, by operation of law, subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under section 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on serving political office holders that qualify, by extension as public officers within the context of the constitution is resignation, withdrawal, or retirement at least 30 days before the date of the election.
“Hence, it will be stretching things beyond the constitutional limit to import extraneous restriction into the constitution on account of practical application of section 84(12) of the bill where political parties’ conventions and congresses were to hold earlier than 30 days to the election.”
