The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has disclosed that political appointees, elected as delegates for the party’s national convention scheduled for Saturday, 26th March, 2022, will not be allowed to vote.
However, the Party in a statement issued on Thursday via the official Twitter handle of the APC National Convention, said, the affected delegates would be allowed to attend the convention as observers. Adding that its position was to avoid any legal issue that may arise as a result of the controversy surrounding Section 84 (12) of the new Amended Electoral Act, 2022.
The statement read: “The National Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee of APC has declared that all political appointees, who were elected as delegates to the National Convention slated for 26/3/2022 SHALL NOT VOTE in view of the controversy surrounding Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022.”
“However, political appointees can still attend as observers.”
It could be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, had requested the National Assembly to delete section 84 (12), which restricts sitting cabinet members from contesting for elective offices without resigning.
The section says: “No political appointee at any level shall be 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.”
President Buhari had argued that “Section 84 (12) constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at conventions or congresses of any political party, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election, in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the national election.”
However, the National Assembly had unanimously rejected the president’s request seeking the amendment of the section, with lawmakers stressing that an amendment would be going against the civil service norms and would be injurious to the well-being of the society.
THEWILL also reported that a Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State, presided over by Justice Evelyn Anyadike, had on Friday declared as unconstitutional, null and void, Section 84 (12) of the Amended New Electoral Act 2022.
The court in a judgement, had ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation to immediately expunge the Section from the Amended Act.
The National Assembly, however, expressed disappointment and displeasure with the judgement, which they said was aimed at usurping the powers of lawmaking conferred on them by the 1999 Constitution as amended.
They also asked the AGF, Abubakar Malami, not to tamper with the law as made by the National Assembly pending the determination of all appeals related to it.
Malami, had on Wednesday said the process of deleting the controversial section 84(12) was still a work in progress.
