Uduegbunam Chukwujama
Political office holders elected as delegates for this Saturday’s National Convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will not vote, the party said on Friday night.
A notice issued by the National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of APC said the decision is in view of the controversy surrounding Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022.
‘‘All political appointees who were elected as delegates to the National Convention slated for 26/3/2022 SHALL NOT VOTE in view of the controversy surrounding Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act,2022,’’ the terse statement from the party said.
Join our WhatsApp Channel‘‘However, political appointees can still attend as observers. Please circulate to those concerned and treat as very important,’’ the electronic message sighted by Prime Business Africa concluded.
An Umuahia High Court had, last week, ordered the Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami to delete Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 to allow political appointees the freedom to resign only 30 days to the election if they wanted to participate. The AGF had moved to implement the ‘deletion order’ less than 24 hours after the court gave the directive.
READ: Electoral Act: Buhari Wins As Court Allows Political Appointees To Resign 30 Days To Elections
The now controversial order came after the legislature rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to amend the section as according to him, it goes against the spirit and letter of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
There are strong indications that at least one of Buhari’s ministers is gearing up to run for president in 2023.
The decision by the APC to deny political appointees voting rights in its Convention on Saturday is seen as a precautionary measure following the argument that the Umuahia Court’s quashing of the said Section 84 (12) of the new Electoral Act is still a subject of controversy, and probably remains subject of litigation.
Dwelling on the Court order, therefore, to allow political office holders vote in its convention could lead to nullification of the Convention’s outcomes should the decision of the Umuahia High Court be upturned before the 2023 general elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would not hesitate to de-recognize the party’s candidate(s) once a court of competent jurisdiction contradicts the controversial order of the Umuahia Court.
