Federal High Court declares Section 84(12) of Electoral Act Unconstitutional

A Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia the Abia State capital has declared unconstitutional Section 84(12) of the newly amended Electoral Act.

The court presided over by Justice Evelyn Anyadike while delivering judgement Friday held that the section is in violation of a provision in the 1999 Constitution as amended and should therefore be deleted.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had while signing the amended Electoral Act called the attention of the National Assembly to amend the section as it violates the Constitution and breached the rights of political appointees.

Swiftly, President Muhammadu Buhari wrote a letter to both Chambers of the National Assembly seeking amendment of the section but the Senate rejected the President’s request.

The Presiding judge holds that the Constitution has already stipulated that appointees of government seeking to contest elections were only to resign at least 30 days to the date of the election and that any other law that mandated such appointees to resign or leave office at any time before that is unconstitutional, invalid, illegal null and void to the extent of its inconsistency to the clear provisions of the Constitution.