Malami hurries to implement Electoral Act ruling

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Abubakar Malami, Nigeria's Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Photo source: unknown

Abubakar Malami, Nigeria’s minister of justice, says he will hastely implement the court ruling on the contentious section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act.

The Cornet had reported that Justice Evelyn Ayandike of the Federal High Court, Abia, ruled that the Minister delete the specific section, having declared the same unconstitutional.

Dr Umar Gwandu, a spokesman for the minister, said the government would do as the court had said, after which it would gazette the Electoral Act 2022.

“The office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will accordingly give effect to the court judgment in line with the dictates of the law and the spirit of the judgment.

“The judgment of the court will be recognised by the government printers in printing the Electoral Act.

“The Act will be gazetted factoring the effect of the judgment into consideration and deleting the constitutionally offensive provision accordingly.

“The provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 is not part of our law and will be so treated accordingly.”

According to Gwandu, the government’s action is in line with the dictates of Chapter 7, Part 4, Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) on enforcement of decisions that makes it a point of duty and obligation on all authorities and persons to have the judgment of the Federal High Court, among others, to be enforced.

What does Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022 say?

The specific provision of the act has been a thorny issue between the presidency and the national assembly. President Muhammadu Buhari reluctantly assented to the electoral act while stating his discontent for the Section 84(12).

This is what the section says:

“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 purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”