President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to expunge Section 84(12) of the newly-signed Electoral Act 2022.
In a letter addressed to Senate Ahmad Lawan and read at the plenary, Buhari asked the legislature to outrightly delete the controversial section because it is undemocratic.
According to the letter, the President reiterated his earlier statement that the section disenfranchises political appointees.
Recall that the President had told the legislators that the Section which bans serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at Conventions or Congresses of any political party to be expunged.
During the signing of the bill last Friday, the Nigerian leader said Section 84 (12) contravenes the provision of the constitution which already states that such political office holders should resign, withdraw or retire at least 30 days before the date of the election.
He had said: “This provision has introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that ultra vires the Constitution by way of importing blanket restriction and disqualification to serving political office holders of which they are constitutionally accorded protection.
The practical application of section 84(12) of the Electoral Bill, 2022 will, if assented to, by operation of law, subject serving political office holders to inhibitions and restrictions referred to under section 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on serving political office holders that qualify, by extension, as public officers within the context of the constitution is resignation, withdrawal or retirement at least 30 days before the date of the election.
Hence, it will be stretching things beyond the constitutional limit to import extraneous restrictions into the constitution on account of practical application of section 84(12) of the bill where political parties’ conventions and congresses were to hold earlier than 30 days to the election.
Arising from the foregoing, with particular regards to the benefits of the Bill, industry, time, resources and energy committed in its passage, I hereby assent to the Bill and request the Nationally Assembly to consider immediate amendments that will bring the Bill in tune with constitutionality by way of deleting section 84(12) accordingly.”
