Victor EzejaFollowing presidential assent to Electoral Act (Amendment) 2022 on Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari has written to National Assembly seeking for amendment of Section 84 of the Act, pointing out that it runs contrary to extant provisions of the 1999 Constitutions.
This is contained in a letter dated 28th February, 2022 sent to the Senate by the president.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan read the letter on the floor of the upper chamber during plenary on Tuesday.
The National Assembly had on January 25, 2022, passed the Electoral Act Amendment and forwarded to the president for assent.
Buhari however, after giving his assent to the electoral Act, observed that some provisions needed to be revisited and amended.
According to a statement by Dr. Ezrel Tabiowo, Special Assistant (Press) To President of the Senate, Buhari in the letter, commended the National Assembly for enacting positive provisions in the Act which could “revolutionize election process in Nigeria especially the introduction of new technological innovation that will in turn guarantee the Constitutional rights of Citizens to vote and to do so effectively,” and also reduce incidences of conflicts that could arise as a result of dissatisfied candidates.
He, however, stated that Section 84(12) of the Act 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 nomination of Candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the Election.
Part of the letter reads, “Distinguished Senate President, I however will want to kindly draw your attention to the provisions of Section 84(12) of the Act, which I believe, constitutes a fundamental defect as it is in direct conflict with extant Constitutional provisions.
“Section 84 (12) of the Act 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 nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the election. Section 84(12) of the Act provides as follows: ‘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.’
“This provision has introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that is 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 practical application of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, (Amendment) 2022, is to subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under Sections 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, as provided in Section 66(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), among others.
“Hence, it will be stretching matters beyond the constitutional limit to import extraneous restrictions into the Constitution on account of practical application of Section 84(12) of the Act where political parties’ conventions and congresses were to hold earlier than 30 days to the election.
“Arising from the foregoing, I request the National Assembly to consider immediate amendments that will bring the Act in conformity with the Constitution by way of deleting Section 84(12) accordingly.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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