The National Assembly is divided over the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja that stopped the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); and the parliament from tampering with the Electoral Act, 2022.
While the Senate insisted on going ahead to consider the request by the President, who asked the parliament to delete Section 84(14) of the new electoral law, the House said it would obey the court ruling.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, at the plenary on Tuesday, stated that the ruling of the FHC negated the principles of separation of powers.
However, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, while addressing journalists on Tuesday, stated that the chamber would obey the rule of law principle.
The President had last week officially conveyed to the National Assembly his reservation about Section 84 (12) of the Act and asked the lawmakers to delete it.
The section read in part, ‘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’.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, agreed that the Electoral Act had become a valid law and could not be tampered with without following the due process.
The judge also held that the proper place to challenge the validity of any existing law was a court of competent jurisdiction.
Judiciary can’t stop legislature from working – Lawan
At the plenary on Tuesday, Lawan stated that the ruling would not stop the National Assembly from amending the Electoral Act.
As the amendment bill scaled first reading, the Senate President argued that the ruling violated the provisions of the 1999 Constitution on the separation of powers.
Lawan stated, “I find it necessary to talk about this at this point, because our governance system is based on the presidential system of government, where there is clear cut separation and exercise of powers.
“The judiciary, under no circumstance, cannot stop the National Assembly from performing its legislative duties. We know what our due processes are, just like we wouldn’t venture into what the judiciary does, and it should also understand that we have our processes.
“If the President writes to the National Assembly to request an amendment, that is within his powers and it is for the National Assembly to decide whether or not it agrees with the request of Mr President.
“But to say that we cannot consider it is to ask for what is not there to be given. I believe that the members of this National Assembly know their work and will do what is right.”
The Senate President stressed that Buhari and the lawmakers were not doing anything outside of the law, adding that the National Assembly was ready to take in and consider the President’s request.
According to him, it is within the parliament’s exclusive right to consider whatever request it receives from Nigerians.
