Breaking! Court Says Appointees Can Resign 30 Days to Elections
A Federal High Court on Friday countered the provision of the Electoral Law concerning resignation of Political appointees which require them to resign according to the provisions of Subsection 12 of Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.
Justice Evelyn Anyadike, of the Federal High Court, Umuahia, while ruling on the matter brought before the court, stated that the section was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever and ought to be struck down as it cannot stand when it is in violation of the clear provisions of the Constitution.
The court ordered the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to delete that particular provision of the Electoral Act saying it breached the rights of Political appointees.
Justice Anyadike in the Suit marked FHC/UM/CS/26/2022 held that Sections 66(1)(f), 107(1)(f), 137(1)(f) and 182(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution already stipulated that appointees of government seeking to contest elections were only to resign at least 30 days to the date of the election and that any other law that mandated such appointees to resign or leave office at any time before that was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal null and void to the extent of its inconsistency to the clear provisions of the Constitution.
According to the lawyer to the plaintiffs, Emeka Ozoani, the National Assembly would not longer be required to amend the Act saying the judgement has already deleted that provision.