Ahead of National Convention, lawyer warns APC against legal banana peel of Section 84

The contentious Section 84 of the Electoral Act has been the subject of discussions ahead of the election season.

Ahead of its March 26 National Convention, an Abuja-based lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, on Saturday cautioned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against allowing political appointees partake in the process.

Ajulo, who warned against the law, made this assertion in response to the pronouncement by the Federal Government to allow political appointees to run for office without resigning in adherence to a Federal High Court judgement.

On Friday, a Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, on Friday, nullified Section 84(12) of the newly amended Electoral Act, saying it violated the provisions of the Constitution.

Section 84(10) of the Act specifically reads, “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.”

In an earlier sequence of events, the National Assembly had rejected an appeal by President Muhammadu Buhari to amend the Section.

However, the Court judgement means elected political officers are eligible to partake in the electoral process of party primaries without resigning from office.

In his statement, Ajulo noted that the judgment of the court was per incuriam, adding that political appointees are not public servants.

Read also: APC confused, can’t provide good governance – Tambuwal

“Let us get a point clear, it is undoubted that Courts of Superior record by virtue of Section 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), have the power to declare an Act of the National Assembly unconstitutional, null and void to the extent of its inconsistency.

“Moreso, a plethora of authorities have established the principle that where a provision of an enactment by the legislature conflicts with the express provision of the Constitution, the said extant law shall be declared null and void. That is the essence of S1(3) of the 1999 constitution as Amended. It provides that “If any other law is inconsistent with the provision of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

“Suffices to state that a pensive justapoxing of the Sections of the Constitution relied upon by the learned trial judge require persons employed in the public service of either the federal government or state governments.

“Based on the doctrine of judicial precedents, it is quite apposite that the Appellate Court will set aside the decision of the trial court.”

He further questioned the location of the hearing and lack of parties in the suit.

“For those who have mind to think, the perdurable questions to ask include:

Why was the suit filed in far away Umuahia, Abia State? Why were the National Assembly and Independent National Electoral Commission not joined as parties to the suit?

“It is instructive to note that the Peoples Democratic Party including other prominent political parties have concluded its Convention if the All Progressives Congress should rely on the ephemeral judgment of the Court and proceed to permit political appointees to vote and contest at its primaries and conventions, same is a disaster going somewhere to happen.”

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