₦airaland Forum

The persistent meandering around the technicality and application of the recently passed electoral act calls for serious concern to students of politics.
Section 84 (12) as recently passed hinders political appointees in government to function as delegates in party primaries or even be voted for, except they resign their appointments.

Just today, a federal high court was reported to have ruled that the AGF/Minister of Justice was ordered to delete the said controversial clause from the Electoral Act 2022.

The court posit that the said clause is at loggerhead with the provisions of 1999 constitution as amended.

Why AGF?
The question that comes to mind, is, isn't it suppose to be the responsibility of the legislature to alter by amendment any part of the law?

Also, it is being reported that the AGF has obliged the judgement!
Why so hastily?
Please, i urge all the legal luminaries in the house to analyse the whole scenario and come up with learned expose/position.

The constitution is the supreme law of the land, any law that contradicts constitutional provisions becomes null and void. Section 84(12) violates a section of the constitution. Hence,its null. So the National Assembly can only amend the constitution to bring back that section

You can't fight the president's backing and expect to win. Finally, you can't fight the government. By the time he asks EFCC to send them text messages, they'll all forget about going to war with the president. It's a dead end matter. It's like fighting Trump when he was the President (even impeachment didn't work) or fighting Putin as the president of russia. It's a war that the president wins.

ozolity:
The constitution is the supreme law of the land, any law that contradicts constitutional provisions becomes null and void. Section 84(12) violates a section of the constitution. Hence,its null. So the National Assembly can only amend the constitution to bring back that section

But, the new electoral act equally passed through the National Assembly.

francotunsco:
But, the new electoral act equally passed through the National Assembly.

Most of those guys in NASS are laymen. They know no jack about law and constitution or at best self-serving.
The NASS was totally wrong in inserting such clause. It was not necessary, all Buhari asked was to ammend the clause on controversial direct primaries. Simple! But some selfish members, thinking to technically disqualify political appointees inserted such obnoxious clause. Why did they not require both political appointees and elected persons to resign? The clause was vexatious and in direct collision with the Constitution as such CANNOT pass the legal test anywhere. Deleting it is good.
All Nigerians asked for in the 2022 Electiral Act was Electronic Transmission of results. These other provisions are irrelevant. Now that the vexatious clause has been deleted, AGF need to immediately gazette the law with section(12) marked DELETED. If NASS is dissatisfied, NASS could go ahead and attempt to amend the constitution if they can. Of course, that would fail disatrously.

The Hon Justice Bassey Ikpeme and Justice Saleh were used in aborting June 12, 1993. The controversial section 84 (12) of 2022 was now abrogated by Justice Anyadike and summarily deleted by AGF Malami

First Tinubu and his NASS henchmen came up with direct primaries, Buhari and Malami took it down and asked for them to remove the clause. Then, NASS went and inserted clause 84(12), so as to stop the president's preferred candidate. Mr. President honorably called NASS leadership to agree that they would amend it after he signed. NASS accepted and Buhari signed, thereafter, the president sincerely went back to NASS to amend, but NASS reneged. Rather they welcomed Tinubu with an open arm, ostentatiously to celebrate a win against the Presidency. Then 48hrs later, Justice Anyadike annulled section 84 (12). Hear her, The section is “unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever and ought to be struck down as it cannot stand when it is in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution.”

I see history about to repeat itself. Those who are close to Tinubu should just advise him to back down and honorably bow out. If you want to fight dirty, be sure you are willing to go down dirty. The Presidency is only allowing the Asiwaju the grace to take a soft landing. If he chooses to fight dirty, then it could get really dirty and messy. June 12, 1993 is still fresh in our memory, I hope we do not get there again.