The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Umuahia which voided the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022.
Section 84(12) of the Act 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.”
Delivering judgment, the three-member panel of the court led by Justice Hamma Akawu- Barka held that the Federal High Court Umuahia had no jurisdiction to have entertained the case.
This according to them was because the plaintiff, Mr. Nduka Edede, did not have the legal right to have filed the suit in the first place.
The appellate court said that Edede did not establish any cause of action to have warranted his approaching the court on the issue.
The three-man panel said this was because he did not establish that he was directly affected by the provision.
The court struck out the suit marked: FHC/UM/CS/26/2022 which Edede filed before the Federal High Court in Umuahia.
The court however, reasoned that the provision was unconstitutional on the grounds that it violates Section 42 (1)(a) of the constitution and denies a class of Nigerian citizens their right to participate in election.