By Deborah Onyofufeke
The court of Appeal has okayed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) verdict to join as a person interested in an appeal against the high court judgment which voided and struck down section 84 (12) of the Act.
The appellate court has ordered the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and others to stay away from taking steps capable of frustrating hearing in an appeal filed against the judgement of a Federal High Court which ordered the removal of section 84 (12) from the new Electoral Act.
PDP was granted permission by the Owerri division of the Appeal Court to file its appeal as an interested person against the decision of the Federal High Court, Umuahia, on the order for removal of the section from the Electoral law.
Group condemns Oluomo’s appointment, says it’s illegal
The appeal marked CA/OW/87/2022 has Chief Nduka Edede and the Attorney General of the Federation AGF as the 1st and 2nd respondents respectively.
In an enrol order of the Court of Appeal obtained in Abuja yesterday and signed by the Presiding Justice of the court, Justice Rita Noshakhare Pemu, the leave granted PDP to file an appeal was occasioned by submissions of its counsel, D.C Denwigwe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN.
The enrolment order read in part “ Upon reading the application herein filed on 23-3-2022 with an affidavit in support sworn to by John Eronini on the same date and after hearing DC Denwigwe SAN for the applicant and Chief Emeka Ozoani SAN for the 1st respondent, the order is hereby granted as follows;
“Leave is hereby granted to the applicant (PDP) to appeal as a person interested in this appeal CA/OW/87/2022. Due to the exigencies of this appeal and its Constitutional colorization, there is a need to hear this matter expeditiously.
Palm Sunday: Don’t give up on having better country, clerics urge Nigerians
“Accordingly, the Appellant is hereby given up to Tuesday 12th of April, 2022 to file its Notice of Appeal, and the parties are to file their respective briefs of arguments within three days from the date of service of the notice and record of Appeal on the respondents.
“There shall be a further three days given to the appellant to file a reply. Parties should desist from taking any step to frustrate the hearing of the appeal. The matter is adjourned to the 4th of May, 2022, for the hearing of the appeal. A fresh hearing notice to be issued on the 2nd to the 12th respondents”.
Recall that Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court, Umuahia division had on March 18 declared the section 84(12) of the amended Electoral Act, invalid, unconstitutional, null, and void.
Nigerians donate expired products to us, orphanage cries out
In the judgement, Justice Anyadike, ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation to delete section 84(12) of the amended Electoral Act. Which 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 nomination of candidates for any election.”
President Muhammadu Buhari had on February 25 assented to the Electoral Act 2022 but objected to the provision of Section 84 (12) which he later requested the National Assembly to amend, but the request was rejected by the lawmakers.
The PDP had afterward, dragged Buhari before a Federal High Court in Abuja challenging moves to alter the
amended Electoral Act on the ground that the President has assented to the Bill on February 25, 2022, cannot give any directive to the National Assembly to remove the section or any section of the Act
The party also applied for an order of the court stopping the National Assembly from giving effect to President Buhari’s request to remove section 84 (12) from the Electoral Act or take any step that will make the provision inoperative pending the resolution of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
In a ruling on PDP’s ex-parte application, Justice Inyang Ekwo had ordered the defendants in the suit to suspend all actions on any attempt to alter the Electoral Act.
