Malami: Obeying Court Order Removing Section 84(12) from Electoral Act is Work in Progress

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said that implementing the ruling of a competent court of law mandating his office to ensure the removal of Section 84 (12) of the 2022 Electoral Act is a work in progress.
Malami made this known Wednesday while speaking with newsmen at the State House, Abuja, at the end of the weekly virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in which President Muhammadu Buhari presided.
Prodded to give update on the implementation of the ruling by a Federal High Court in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, which ordered the AGF to delete section 84 (12) of the amended Electoral Act, the AGF said the process was still on.

He said: “My clear response arising there from, is the fact that truly there exists a court judgment. By the judgment, the court directed the Office of the Attorney-General to take the necessary steps to delete the provision, which in essence implies that the provision should not form part of our laws.

“Whether it has been deleted, or has not been deleted, is indeed a function of agencies of government and associated relevant parastatals, but the true position of it in that respect, is the fact that government printers, and indeed Law Reform Commission, among others, that are responsible for the codification and gazetting of our laws, are working naturally, hand in hand with the Office of the Attorney-General for the purpose of ensuring that what goes into our laws are indeed in line with the provision of the law. 

“So what I am saying in essence, it is indeed a work in progress against the background of the fact that the Law Reform Commission is involved statutorily, which is a parastatal under the Office of the Attorney-General, is a party to the process of codification. The government printers, which are saddled with the responsibility of gazetting our laws on the request of the Office of the Attorney-General is equally involved. 
“Above all, as you rightly stated, the possibility of an appeal is equally there. So, what I am saying in effect is deletion of section 84 Subsection 12 is a work in progress and is being considered as such.”

President Muhammadu Buhari had while signing the revised Electoral Act on February 25, 2022, raised an objection against the section, noting that it stands in direct contravention of the 1999 Constitution (amended).

The section 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.”

Details later…