Court Orders AGF to Delete Section 84(12) of Amended Electoral Act

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

A Federal High Court in Umuahia Friday nullified the controversial Section 84(12) of the Amended Electoral Act and ordered the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) “to delete it forthwith”, saying that it is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.

The controversial section had pitted the National Assembly against President Muhammadu Buhari, who had extracted a promise from the federal lawmakers to remove the vexacious section before he signed the amended Electoral Act.

But last week, a politician and legal practitioner, Nduka Edede, who is a member of Action Alliance (AA), filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Umuahia seeking to nullify the Section 84(12) on the ground that it was inconsistent with Sections 66,107,137 and 182 of the 1999 Constitution.

Delivering judgment in the matter with Suit No. FHC/UM/CS/26/2022, which had received accelerated hearing, Justice Evelyn Anyadike held that Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, as amended, is inconsistent with Sections 66, 107, 137 and 182 of the 1999 Constituion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

The judge held that the said section of the Electoral Act was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever and ought to be struck down hence it cannot stand when it is in violation of the clear provisions of the constitution.

Specifically, Justice Anyadike noted that Sections 66(1)(f), 107(1)(f),137(1)(f) and 182(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution already stipulates that appointees of government seeking to contest elections were only to resign at least 30 days to the date of the election.

The judge therefore held that any other law that mandates such appointees to resign or leave office at any time before the stipulated 30 days is unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null and void to the extent of its inconsistency to the clear provisions of the constitution.

President Buhari had, while signing the amended Electoral Act, urged the National Assembly to go back and delete the controversial provision as it violated the constitution and breached the rights of government appointees.

Though he followed it up with a letter to both Chambers of the National Assembly seeking amendment by way of deleting the provision, the National Assembly members stuck to their gun and refused to do the bidding of the president.

Speaking with journalists after the court verdict, the counsel to the plaintiff, Emeka Ozoani (SAN), said that it has restored the rights of Nigerian citizens which vexatious subsection 12 of Section 84 of the Electoral Act sought to abridge.

According to him, the court has now, with this judgment, created “a congenial atmosphere for politicking and political space” ahead of the 2023 general election.

He said that there was no need again for the National Assembly to bother with amending Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act as requested by President Buhari as the court has specifically asked the AGF to delete it since it was an illegal law ab initio.

The counsel to the AGF, Chris Nevo, said that the court judgment was in tandem with the position of the AGF, who has always held that it was wrong to use the Electoral Act to abridge the rights of political appointees to participate in the electoral process.

Nevo said: “Originally, we believed that it was a big error on the part of the National Assembly to have inserted the controversial Section 84(12),” adding that Nigerians should now heave a sigh of relief as the nation could now face operational issues begging for attention.