March 09, (THEWILL) – The Senate on Wednesday rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to amend section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022.
President Buhari had on February 28, 2022, written to the Senate after assenting to the Electoral Act, to amend Section 84(12) of the Act.
The Section states that “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.”
Buhari had in his letter to the Senate drawn the attention of the lawmakers to the provisions of Section 84(12), which, according to him, constitutes a “defect” that is in conflict with extant Constitutional provisions.
According to him, Section 84(12) of the Act 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 election.
The president noted that the contentious clause had 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”.
All efforts, however, by Senate President Ahmad Lawan, who presided over the plenary, to ensure that the Bill passed a second reading was ignored as the senators unanimously voted against it.
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