The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has voided the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
It held that the said provision of the electoral law was unconstitutional because it is in breach of Section 42 (1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, stressing that the section denied a class of Nigerian citizens their right to participate in the election.
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.”
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of Justices led by Justice Hamma Akawu Barka, also vacated the ruling of the Abia State high court on the matter, saying that the court acted without jurisdiction.
The court held that the Plaintiff, Mr Nduka Edede, lacked the locus standi to institute the action as he failed to establish any cause of action that warranted him to approach the court on the issue.
It also noted that the plaintiff could not prove how he was directly affected by that section of the newly amended Electoral Act and struck out the suit marked: FHC/UM/CS/26/2022, which Eddie filed before the Umuahia court.
