On Wednesday, the House of Assembly rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s bill to amend Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The Story So Far
Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 prevents political office holders in Nigeria from contesting in a political party’s primary election without first resigning the office they hold.
Buhari, who signed the Electoral Act, 2022 on the 25th of February 2022, voiced his concern over this section of the electoral act during the signing ceremony. The President wrote to the National Assembly a few days back to amend section 84 (12) of the electoral act.
The PDP in an ex-parte application secured a court ruling preventing President Buhari, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Senate President from amending any section of the electoral act without due process.
Current Situation
In Wednesday’s plenary session, the Nigerian lawmakers voted against amending section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 when it was raised in the House.
What this means
As the legislators have chosen not to amend this section, every appointed or elected political official in the current administration would have to resign their positions before participating in party primaries in-view of the 2023 general elections.