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Tag: Electoral Act

  • Electoral Act: National Assembly restores use of card readers

    The controversy trailing the amendment of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly appears to have been laid to rest.

    The National Assembly joint committee on Electoral Matters yesterday adopted a comprehensive Electoral Act amendment Bill which restored the omitted Electronic Card Readers.

    Apart from the reintroduction of the use of Card Readers in the conduct of elections, the committee harmonised the three bills rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari to form one holistic bill.

    The committee also amended sections of the Bill as requested by the electoral umpire.

    The Bill seeks to amend the Electoral Act No.6, 2010 to make for the restriction of the qualification for elective office to relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended); the use of Card Readers and other technological devices in elections and Political Party Primaries; to provide a time for submission of list of candidates; criteria for substitution of candidates; limit of campaign expenses; and address the omission of names of candidates or logo of political parties.

    Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif, who spoke on the controversial Bill in Abuja, did not however avail reporters with the contents of the new amendments inserted into the Bill.

    Nazif merely explained that the introduction of the new amendments became necessary in order to address the request of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The committee chairman said that the issue with the use of Card Reader was the error of transmitting the third Bill which did not contain the use of card readers as an addendum to the second Bill which contained the use of Card Readers.

    He said that the joint committee has now harmonised the three Bills to come up with a holistic, all-inclusive Bill that would be transmitted to the President for assent.

    Nazif insisted that the insinuation of disagreement between the National Assembly and the Presidency over the amendment of the Electoral Act did not exist.

    The two arms of government, he said, are on the same page on the amendment of the Electoral Act – to strengthen INEC for a free, fair and credible election in 2019 and beyond.

    The committee chairman said that the use of Card Readers for elections was never deleted. The third Bill, which did not contain it, was sent to the President as addition to the second Bill already transmitted to the President.

    Nazif, who spoke after a closed session, said: “I want to assure Nigerians that this committee and the National Assembly is committed to ensuring that we keep true democracy in Nigeria.

    “We also want to use this opportunity to assure Nigerians and indeed everyone here that the National Assembly, and indeed the executive, are on the same page on this amendment bill. I’m sure you must have heard different versions, but I will put everything in a clear picture so that Nigerians will know that all of us are working towards strengthening INEC and ensuring that 2019 is done in a free and fair electoral process and beyond.

    “First and foremost, we had gone through three electoral bills. The first one addressed and had the sequence of elections. It was sent to the executive on the 14th of February 2018, and this also had the card reader in it by the way.

    “It addressed Section 25, which is election sequence, also down to section 138, which is how election may be challenged, c and d and the third one, Section 152 on the competence of National Assembly to legislate for local governments.

    “This was the bill that we passed and the executive withheld the assent based on these three grounds.

    “Having said that, it brings us back to the second electoral amendment bill.

    “This is the second electoral amendment bill. This second one was concluded on the 26th of June, 2018. It addressed all the issues raised by the executive.

    “It addressed the issue of Section 25 on sequence of election which was deleted in the second amendment.

    “Section 138 was also carried because C and D was not in the first one, we put the C and D in the second one.

    “Again, Section 152, the competence of the National Assembly to legislate for Local Government was deleted in the second one, so that Nigerians are very clear about what transpired.

    “The card reader was in this one (second bill). Now having said this, the assent on this one was withheld in the 26th of July and on the 26th of July the Senate went on recess on the 24th while the House of Representatives went on recess on the 26th.

    “This second bill had addressed the first bill, but there were issues in respect to INEC on dates but the second bill did not carry it.

    “During our presentation of the Second bill, however, there were observations by the Independent National Electoral Commission which are germaine in deepening the electoral process in Nigeria that came late to the committee and that such observations should be corrected in subsequent bills. INEC was worried that all the observations may impair their operations.

    “Now, the recommendations …this is the Senate version and I believe the same was done in the House.

    “That the Senate grants approval to expeditiously consider the amendment to the Electoral Act as requested by INEC by way of another fresh bill.”

    “So, we wanted to strengthen INEC. We wanted to make INEC more effective and make its work easier. We now came up with the third bill. And the third bill was supposed to an addendum to the second one. The second bill had 41 clauses. Now we go to the third bill:

    “This third bill had 14 clauses, 15 with the citations and addendum to strengthen the second Electoral Act. So we now worked on the third one, while the House of Representatives worked on theirs on the 26th and then forwarded to the executive on the 2nd of August. Now the third withheld assent came on the 3rd of September, 2018. We were on recess when this third rejection came.

    “Therefore gentlemen, what we wanted to achieve in the third bill was to strengthen the second one. That is all. We wanted to strengthen the second one, so that it would address all these issues, so that we can make INEC’s work easier.

    “The third bill, because it was an addition, which had 15 clauses with the citations did not carry the card reader because it was just an addition to the second bill.”

    Nazif continued: “What we exactly wanted was a merger between the second one and the third one. So, the executive and the legislative arm are on the same page concerning INEC.

    “We want to strengthen INEC. We want to make sure that the 2019 election is free and fair, and credible at the same time.

    “So, we have come up with the fourth version after the president had withheld ascent to the third one. This is the fourth bill, which supposes to put together the second one and the third one.

    “And what this committee did was to at the end of the day give opportunity to every member of the committee to look at it once again and that was why yesterday (Monday) we took the whole day to allow them to go through it and this morning when we resumed we went through it again to have one solid document.

    “This one (fourth bill) has addressed all the issues raised by the executive. This one has also addressed all the issues that will make INEC more comfortable and efficient.

    “Therefore, this is what Nigerians are expecting and I want you to know that all of us have worked on this document.

    “As a committee, we have gone through section by section, clause by clause and we have come up with additional amendments based on this draft.

    “There was an issue in Section 9 (1)(8) and it was amended. Section 9 (b)(5) was amended. Section (18)(1)(4) was amended. Section 19 (4) amended. Section 30(1) amended, Section 31(1) amended 31(1) amended, 31(7) amended, Section 31(2 to 4) deleted, Section 36(3) amended, 44(3 and 4) amended, Section 67(a, b, c, d), 69 amended, Section 87(2) amended, Section 87(14) amended, Section 112(4) amended.

    The National Assembly on Monday took steps to repackage the Electoral Act amendment Bill rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Members of Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Electoral Matters held a closed session to reconsider contentious clauses of the rejected Bill.

    President Buhari vetoed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018, citing drafting issues, which he said were likely to affect the interpretation and application of the Principal Act.

    The President in separate memos to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, said that some of the provisions of the Bill would adversely affect the operations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) if allowed to pass.

    Although the issue of the use of electronic card readers was not raised by the President in his veto of the Bill, some stakeholders believed that the rejection of the Bill by President Buhari also meant that the card reader will not be used for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

    The Presidency said the card reader was not part of what the National Assembly sent to the President for assent.

    Buhari in March this year turned down the amendment to the Electoral Law, which altered the sequence of elections.

    The amendment placed the National Assembly election first, followed by presidential election while governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections would hold last in the order of elections.

    Buhari noted that “Section 25 of the principal Act may infringe upon the constitutionally guaranteed discretion of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise, undertake and supervise elections provided in Section 15(A) of the third statue to the Constitution.”

     

  • NBC closure of radio station saved Ekiti from chaos, says CNPP

    …. Says Fayose’s action ‘treasonable’

    The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Ekiti State Chapter, has berated Governor Ayo Fayose for alleged breach of Electoral Act during the collation of results of Saturday’s governorship poll.

    The group condemned Fayose for using the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES) to declare the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola as ‘winner’ of the election while the coalition was ongoing.

    In a statement by its Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olu Akomolafe, the CNPP praised the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for saving Ekiti from being thrown into chaos and anarchy.

    Read Also:APC elders to Fayemi: give Ekiti people good governance

    Rising from a meeting on Friday where the governorship election was reviewed, the CNPP also praised President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing the conduct of free, fair and credible poll.

    “The NBC saved Ekiti State from being thrown into chaos and anarchy by shutting down the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State where the governor had gone on air to illegally declare the PDP candidate as winner of the poll.

    “This noble act of NBC stopped the incitement of the members of the public by the governor. Only God knows what would have happened thereafter but the NBC intervention saved the day,” Akomolafe said.

    The CNPP congratulated the governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on his victory in the July 14 governorship election.

    Describing Fayemi’s victory as well deserved, the body commended him for extending a hand of fellowship to other candidates with whom he contested the governorship seat.

    The, CNPP appealed to candidates who lost to Fayemi to give peace a chance and allow peace to reign in Ekiti.

    The group appealed to the Federal Government to come to the aid of the incoming government to defray the backlog of workers’ salaries and pensioners’ benefits.

    It said the appeal became necessary owing to what it called “the huge debt of N117 million” incurred by the outgoing administration as recently released by the Debt Management office (DMO).

    The CNPP hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for prompt deployment of personnel and electoral materials to all the 2,195 polling units.

    The CNPP said INEC’s impartiality was largely responsible for the peaceful conduct of the election.

    In a related development, an interest group, the Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) has described Fayose’s action of pronouncing his deputy winner on air while collation was going on as “treasonable.”

    The CPPM Coordinator, Mr. Nelson Ekujumi, expressed dismay that “Fayose has repeatedly denigrated and brought public opprobrium upon the exalted office of the governor by his conduct and utterances.”

    Ekujumi said Fayose’s outburst on the radio on the night of the Election Day was full of malicious and unsubstantiated allegations against all institutions of state with the intent to provoke election violence.

    He said: “According to the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the only body charged with the responsibility for the conduct and announcement of the results of elections in Nigeria is the electoral umpire, INEC or the states independent electoral commissions.

    “In tandem with his character of utter disdain and disrespect for the responsibility, decorum of office of the governor and violations of his oath of allegiance to the constitution of Nigeria, Mr. Ayodele Fayose usurped the constitutional powers of INEC by declaring the results of the 2018 Ekiti state gubernatorial election on the Ekiti state television and radio stations and has thus committed an act of treason by attempting to overthrow a legitimately elected government
    at the polls by his action.

    “We must however commend the National Broadcasting Commission (NBS) for acting swiftly and responsibly in shutting down the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti state (BSES) and its sister radio station which has become an instrument for disseminating malicious allegations and
    incitement to violence by outgoing governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state.

    “Thus, we are demanding the prosecution for treason of Fayose at the expiration of his tenure in office for attempting to unconstitutionally overthrow a legitimately elected government derived
    from the polls on Saturday 14th July, 2018, through his announcement of election result on the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES).”

  • 2019 elections: Group seeks prompt amendment to Electoral Act

    The Executive and Legislature have been urged to close ranks and ensure that the various proposed amendments to the Electoral Act were carried through in view of their implication for the success of the next general elections.

    This formed part of the recommendations by Participants at a “round table on election petitions arising from the 2015 general election” held in Abuja on Monday by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).

    They also noted that there was the need for both arms of government to also carry through the amendment to the Constitution, particularly as it affects the electoral process.

    Speakers identified the various laudable amendments to the Electoral Act, which they said was needed to further perfect the electoral process.

    PLAC’s Executive Director, Clement Nwankwo appealed to the two arms of government to “work together and not allow the controversy over election sequence affect the enormous work that have gone into the amendment to the Electoral Act.

    “If politicians have not deliver on their promises and hope to win reelection by frustrating legal provisions and amended to existing laws, they will be disappointed this time.” he said.

    Rights activist, Festus Okoye, who examined the state of the nation’s electoral jursprudence, made some suggestions for improvement.

    He said: “The National Assembly and the Presidency should complete the alteration to the Constitution and the amendment to Electoral Act at least six months to the election.”

    Okoye also advocated for the need for certainty in the electoral process regarding the exact legal and constitutional framework that will govern the conduct of elections.

    He suggested the need for continuous training for judges assigned to hear election disputes to bring them up to date on issues and challenges in the management and handling of election petitions.

    Okoye, while noting the controversy over the legal status of the smart card reader, suggested a gradual infusion of the technologies into the Constitution and Electoral Act to allow for clarity.

  • ‘Nigerians must prevail on legislature to override Buhari on Electoral Act’

    RIVERS State Governor Nyesom Wike has called on Nigerians to prevail on the National Assembly to override the President’s veto of the 2010 Electoral Act Amendment Bill to guarantee free, fair and credible electoral system.

    Addressing the 2018 Annual Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Section on Legal Practice Conference in Port Harcourt yesterday,  Wike urged lawyers to rise up and insist on the relevance of the amended Electoral Act 2010.

    He said: “We must all stand up against the devilish efforts by some anti-democratic forces to kill the ongoing process to amend the 2010 Electoral Act on the whimsical excuse that the order of elections proposed in the Amendment Bill contravenes the discretionary powers of INEC, which, in any case, has not complained of any mischief occasioned by the new order.

    “Let me remind us that a defining feature of the legal profession is the commitment to promote both the substantive rules and the processes of the law, as well as, to defend the democratic values of our society.”

    Wike said though the 2010 Electoral Act was enacted to promote credible elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) working with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police manipulated  the Act to rig the rerun elections in Rivers.

    He said following fraudulent  activities by INEC, APC  and the Police, the tribunal and Court of Appeal upheld results concocted by the Police for Rivers Rerun

    “We all saw how results sheets were duplicated with identical serial numbers and handed over to the police to entre fake results and returns in favour of the candidates of the APC in the said elections.

    “In spite of this law, we all saw how both the tribunal and the Court of Appeal anchored their verdicts on results that were generated and certified from the custody of the Nigerian Police, while the results from INEC, which conducted the elections, were branded irrelevant and accordingly rejected.

    “What all these mean is that a thousand Electoral Laws may amount to nothing for as long as the Federal Government, the INEC, the Police and other government agencies that may legally or illegally be brought into the election process, continue to disrespect the law and trample on our democratic rights to free and fair elections with impunity and without suffering any legal pains or punishment for their criminal conduct.”

    Wike urged the NBA  to reinvent and reposition itself in response to challenges in the theory and practice of law.

    The governor also said lawyers must rethink the way they practice to remain relevant and meet the needs of their clients and society.

    Opening the conference, Chief Justice Justice Walter Onoghen, represented by Justice AB Gumel, noted that the timing is right as it will allow the bench and bar to appraise issues of justice delivery.

    He urged judges to adhere to tenets of the law in their  judgments.

    President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) said the association’s Section on Law Practice is a vehicle for deepening professional practice.

    Chairman of NBA Section on Legal Practice Mainnaya Essien (SAN) said recent ethical issues require an appraisal of practice and challenges.

     

    Highpoint of the conference was the presentation of a recognition plaque to Governor Wike by the NBA President for the outstanding contributions of the Rivers State Governor to the legal profession.

     

     

     

  • Democracy, Electoral Act: All hope is not lost

    UNTIL Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja rules in April 25 whether the case brought before him by the Accord Party on the Electoral Act, 2010 amendment has merit or not, the political terrain will continue to quake under accusations and counter-accusations from the president’s supporters and opponents. The National Assembly had in February overwhelmingly voted to reorder the sequence of the 2019 general elections, with the presidential poll taking the rear after both the National Assembly and state legislative and governorship elections are conducted in that order. The electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had in January announced the retention of the 2015 order of elections which put the presidential and National Assembly polls first, and governorship and state legislative polls second. But perhaps suspicious that the reordering of the polls targeted his re-election, the president vetoed it.  It is this veto that the National Assembly is attempting to override.

    On the one hand are those like the Accord Party who fear that if the National Assembly should be allowed to override the president’s veto in the order of elections matter, that action would constrict the electoral body’s elbow room in conducting the elections, for instance in terms of rescheduling postponed polls. Others in the same camp, including the president in particular, suggest that it would amount to usurping the functions and powers of the electoral body to impose a particular sequence on it. The umpire must not only have control of the order, it must also have control over the dates, they argue.

    On the other hand are those who argue that the order of elections is not the same as the date of elections, and that, in any case, they do not see why a popular president should be perturbed or feel targeted  by anyone using election dates and order. First or last, they suggest, the president should not feel intimidated by his popularity to contest the poll whether it is brought forward or rescheduled late. Whether the proponents of this position are being cynical or not, no one seems to know or even care. As far as everyone is concerned, the National Assembly has not abused its powers by amending the Act, and can furthermore, if the lawmakers so chose, even go ahead to strip more powers from the electoral umpire.

    It is simply democracy at work that the president and his supporters argue that the amendment is targeted at the number one citizen, fearing that rescheduling the order, and not the dates, of the elections could jeopardise his chances. It is also part of the dynamics of democracy that national lawmakers fear that should the presidential poll hold first, and the president wins, it could jeopardise the chances of victory for lawmakers and even governors who have drawn the ire, if not the fury, of the president. So, on the one hand, the president fears defeat should the presidential poll come last, for once his enemies win, they could immobilise him openly and remorselessly. On the other hand, the lawmakers fear defeat should the president win. The fear of defeat, rather than any thought of the sanctity and integrity of the polls, are the overriding considerations in the battle to amend or retain the order of elections.

    Significantly, one political party – ever so typical of the political class — has presumptuously dragged the judiciary into the fray. Here the Accord Party, which is not in alliance with the ruling party, nor seems on the surface friendly to the president, has gone to court over the matter. The party does not stand a cat in hell’s chance of winning the presidency, let alone suffer any loss by the reordering of the polls. Why it has gone to court is, therefore, not clear. Its action can of course not be thrown out on the ground of locus standi, and it can theoretically argue that the new order of elections as passed by the National Assembly could bring injury upon its political interests. It can also argue that it is selflessly concerned about safeguarding the independence and powers of the electoral umpire, which the lawmakers might be intent on eroding. But deep down, no one believes the Accord Party’s claim of political or legal altruism, nor of the sensibility and plausibility of its position.

    If the Accord Party should get any relief from the courts, the first beneficiary would be the president, not even the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) whose members dominate the pugnacious and antagonistic legislature. But the chances of getting any relief of any kind are not only slim, they are indeed next to nothing. What the courts will try to answer is whether the constitution does not empower the lawmakers to make amendments as part of the legislative process, or whether that lawmaking effort does not also include the process of overriding vetoes. The courts will also answer the question of at what point a judicial process can be initiated into and against legislative work: whether at the beginning, because a potentially injured person or part fears future damage, or at the middle, or at the end. Finally, the courts will also attempt to answer the straightforward question of what fraction of the legislature can override a veto, whether the ordinary two-thirds mentioned in the constitution as contained in the relevant override provision in Section 58, or in accordance with the explicit provision of two-thirds of All members as contained in some specific parts of the constitution such as Sections 8 and 9.

    Hopefully, in the final analysis, the courts will settle the question of the point at which an injured person can wade into the legislative process, such that whenever a similar case is brought before the courts in the future, it would merit outright dismissal. If it loses in the Federal High Court, would the Accord Party head to the Court of Appeal without seeming to be a busybody or stooge of the ruling party? No one can tell. April 25 is barely a month away, even though the contest seems clear and the winner incontrovertible.

    However, rather than see the presidency as being motivated by malevolent reasons, and the lawmakers as selfish and misdirected, and the Accord Party as dancing to nefarious tunes, and the courts as being pusillanimous in dismissing the matter, and the controversy surrounding the matter as needlessly passionate, partisan and misconceived, the public should proudly consider all the back and forth and cut and thrust as nothing but the exemplification and projection of the finest principles of democracy. Had this controversy popped up under the military, the question of order of elections would have been settled with a fiat or flagged as a no-go-area, an approach that has distorted and even stultified both democracy and constitution-making in Nigeria.

    The ongoing debate on the order of elections, the peaceful approach to litigating it, and hopefully the juridical expertise that would mark its conclusion, should inure the practice of democracy in Nigeria to the sometimes violent political vagaries that had hallmarked it in the past. The Accord Party’s judicial quest may be questionable and degrading, but as some developed democracies, particularly the United States, are showing, no country is immune to such judicial adventurism or humiliating flagellation.

    Whether Nigerians like it or not, democracy is not only taking root in these parts, it is fast becoming indispensable and largely irreplaceable. Its definition may be problematic, and even somewhat at variance with the simple, austere and engaging explanation offered by Abraham Lincoln, a former US president, but overall, once the element of compulsion is taken away from the practice of democracy, and if the country can manage to develop a judicial practice that is intellectually incontestable, constitutional flaws and idiosyncratic political failings may pale into insignificance. Both the president and the National Assembly may selfishly posture for political advantage today, but in the end what will remain, after the dissipation of the election sequence controversy, should be of such lustre that will encourage Nigerians to have faith in their democracy and work harder to entrench it.

  • Electoral Act: INEC still working on existing law

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday that it was not in its place to take sides in the current face-off  between the executive and the National Assembly    on the sequence of the 2019 general elections.

    The Senate and the House of Representatives, in their  amendment to the order of elections, want the National Assembly  election to precede others, especially the presidential poll.

    Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari interprete the move as a strategy to stop him from winning re-election.

    They wonder why the National Assembly  is desperate to dictate to the commission on how it conducts elections.

    They point to the fact that the presidential and National Assembly elections have always taken place on the same day.

    On Thursday, Buhari met with the leadership of the National Assembly to discuss the logjam over the order of the elections.

    That was 24 hours after he wrote a letter to the National Assembly stating his reasons for declining to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    The NASS had threatened to override his veto.

    However, contacted on the matter yesterday, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the commission was yet to  “take a stance on a process that is yet to be concluded.”

    Reviewing the process so far, he said: “It is within the powers of the National Assembly to make laws.

    “The 1999 Constitution has also clearly stated the process through which a bill enacted by the National Assembly can metamorphose into a valid law.

    “Part of the process is the prerogative of the President to either give or withhold assent.

    “While it is true that the Independent National Electoral Commission made recommendations to the National Assembly during the Electoral Law amendment process, it is not in our place to take a stand on a process that is yet to be concluded.”

    Oyekanmi also said that he does not see the logjam affecting the 2019 general election as the commission insisted that it is still working on the basis of existing law.

    His words: “INEC fixed the dates for the 2019 general elections in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

    “Remember that the tenure of the President, Vice President, governors and deputy governors of the states (except Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Anambra) will expire on 28th May, 2019, while membership of the National and State Assemblies will standdissolved on 8th June, 2019.

    “Now, Sections 76 (2), 116 (2), 132 (2) and 178 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) state that elections into the said offices shall hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder.

    “It was based on these considerations among others that the Commission on January 9 announced the timetable and schedule for the 2019 general elections.

    “So, as far as INEC is concerned, there’s a law in place at the moment.”

  • Court restrains NASS from acting on Electoral Bill

    The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday restrained the National Assembly and other parties in a suit challenging the legitimacy of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018, from acting on the Bill pending the next hearing on the matter.

    The Bill, which seeks to alter the sequence of next year’s general election as earlier announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

    However, Justice Ahmed Mohammed in a ruling on Wednesday, ordered parties in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/232/2015, filed by Accord Party (AP) not to take steps that could affect the res (subject) of the suit.

    AP filed the suit on March 7 and is challenging the constitutionality of the ‎ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act by the Nation Assembly.

    Justice Mohammed’s ruling was on the oral application filed by the plaintiff’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who urged the court to make a preservative order to protect the res when it became obvious that his client’s motion was not ripe for hearing.

  • Electoral Act amendment will die natural death, says Senator

    Electoral Act amendment will die natural death, says Senator

    The amended Electoral Act which places Senatorial and House of Representatives polls first in the sequence of elections will die a natural death, Senate Committee on Police Affairs Chairman Senator Abu Ibrahim said yesterday.

    The Katsina South senator also said President Muhammadu Buhari would not assent to the bill when it gets to him.

    Ibrahim was one of the nine senators who walked out of the Senate chamber on Wednesday following the adoption of the conference report which endorsed the alteration of the elections sequence. The report was prepared by a committee comprising members of both chambers.

    Section 25(i) of the amendment which placed the National Assembly polls first in the sequence of elections sparked a row in the Senate on Wednesday.

    The amendment also provides that governorship and Houses of Assembly elections should follow the National Assembly polls; the presidential election comes last.

    Ibrahim described the amendment as unconstitutional especially when Section 76 of the Constitution is clear on who should fix elections.

    He said the conference committee wrongly believed that there was an amendment to the Constitution which gave them power to change the sequence of elections.

    The amendment, he said, was never signed into law.

    Ibrahim said the Senate’s adoption of the conference report was an “effort in futility”, adding: “the amendment cannot stand and the President will not sign it.”

    He went on: “When it comes back to us, it will die a natural death.”

    The senator said the National Assembly had no right to usurp the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the Constitution to fix elections.

    Ibrahim claimed that the amendment was never discussed in the Senate, saying it came from the House of Representatives for the concurrence of the upper chamber.

    He said: “President Buhari is an institution. We will not add anything to his electoral value. Some senators do not even appreciate the fact that they will be in more danger with their governors if they stand election alone. Some senators may have problem with their governors but you are arming the governor to attack you if you stand election alone. You will spend more and be on your own.

  • Reps adopt amendment to Electoral Act without dissent 

    Reps adopt amendment to Electoral Act without dissent 

    The House of Representatives yesterday adopted the conference committee report on the amendments to the Electoral Act 2010 and 2015 without a debate.

    At the committee of the whole house chaired by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Edward Pwajok (APC, Plateau), who led his colleagues to the conference committee, said seven areas of disagreement between both chambers were addressed and resolved.

    They are Sections 36 (3), 49(2), 53(2), 63(4) and 78(4), among others.

    He said the conference agreed to adopt the Senate’s version on Section 36 (3) on death of candidates, which states that a political party whose candidate dies after commencement of an election and before the declaration of the result of that election has a 14-day window to conduct a fresh primary in order for INEC to conduct a fresh election within 21 days of the death of the party’s candidate.

    The House recommended seven days but the Senate’s version was adopted by the conference.

    Pwajok said the conference also resolved the issue of voter’s card in Section 49 (2) while the Senate’s recommendation on Section 78 (4) was also adopted.

    The conference also agreed on the issue of votes exceeding the number of the voters in the register by adopting the Senate’s version, while on announcement of result of election, it was also agreed that it must be transmitted immediately.

    The conference also agreed on the sequence of elections whereby the presidential poll would be conducted last, according to Pwajok, who also explained that INEC must fix election dates.

    He said the conference also empowered INEC to fix election timetable for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The Speaker recalled that the bill has been adopted earlier, adding that there was no need for debates at this stage since it was a conference report where all the grey areas have been addressed.

    He put the question and the report was unanimously adopted in a voice vote.

  • Why we want to rearrange election order, says Ekweremadu

    Why we want to rearrange election order, says Ekweremadu

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Monday said that the National Assembly wants rearrangement of the order of election to help voters to judge each candidate on his or her own merit at each level of election.

    Ekweremadu said that the rearrangement of the order of election as passed by the House of Representatives, if adopted by the Conference Committee of both Houses, would no doubt help the electorate to make up their minds on each candidate seeking their votes at each level of election.

    He also assured that legislative work on the Electoral Act and the Constitution amendment would be concluded in a matter of weeks.

    Ekweremadu was said to have stated this when he received a delegation of the British High Commission in Nigeria led by the High Commissioner, Mr. Paul Arkwright.

    A statement by the Special Adviser (Media) to the Deputy Senate President, Uche Anichukwu said that Ekweremadu expressed gratitude to the British Government for always showing interest in state of the Nigerian union and her democracy.

    It said that Ekweremadu noted that concluding the amendments to the Electoral Act and Constitution amendment was top on the priority list of the 8th National Assembly to ensure better governance and smooth elections in 2019.

    The Deputy Senate President was quoted to have said: “The 2019 election is very important to Nigeria. The amendments to the Electoral Act and the Constitution all form part of the ongoing electoral reform to continue to improve on the quality of our elections.

    “In the previous amendment, a timeframe was set for the determination of election petitions. Now we are working on setting a timeframe for pre-election matters. In the previous amendments, we also created a window for direct and indirect primary by political parties.

    “In the current amendment, we want to make more elaborate provisions regarding direct party primaries for political parties that may wish to adopt it to ensure greater fairness, transparency, and internal democracy in choosing their flag bearers.

    “We are also working to lift the restrictions on the use of electronic voting by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. That way, it will be up to the election management body to determine if it is sufficiently prepared to deploy electronic voting or when to adopt electronic voting.”

    He said, “The bottom line is that the Conference Committees on both the Electoral Act and Constitution Amendment are meeting separately this week to conclude work on the entire amendments to ensure a smoother and more credible electoral processes as well as promote good governance of the country.”

    It said that the British High Commissioner, Mr. Arkwright, noted that they came to see Ekweremadu on political developments, especially as it concerned the prospects for the People’s Democratic Party and legislative activities of the National Assembly.

    “The legislative programme, which you have in the Senate and the National Assembly, the changes to the electoral laws are also important to us”, Arkwright was quoted to have said.