Kwara state government has demanded resignation of appointees serving in the government who are interested in contesting the forthcoming primary elections for an elective office.
By Dele Moses, Ilorin
The government, in a memo sighted by our correspondent, asked such appointees to resign in line with the provision of the new electoral act.
The memo which was signed by the secretary to the state government, Prof. Mamman Saba Jibril, asked that the appointees should submit their resignation letter not later than Friday April 15.
The memo reads: “In line with provisions of Section 84 (12) of the new Electoral Act, all Kwara State Government’s appointees seeking nominations for elective offices in the forthcoming primaries are hereby directed to resign.
“All resignation letters should be submitted to the Office of the Secretary to the Kwara State Government not later than 15th April, 2022.”
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Section 84 (12) of the new Electoral Act provides as follows: ‘No political appointee at any level shall be 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.’
While signing the amended Electoral Act on February 25, this year, President Muhammadu Buhari had said he would approach the National Assembly to amend the provision in 84 (12) on the ground that it violated the constitution. The efforts by the President to repeal the law at the National Assembly, were rebuffed by the lawmakers.
On March, 18, a Federal High sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, nullified Section 84 (12) of the Act and ordered the Attorney General of the Federation to delete it.
Delivering judgment in a suit marked FHC/UM/CS/26/2022, the court presided over by Justice Evelyn Anyadike declared that the said section of the amended Electoral Act was inconsistent with Sections 66(1)(f), 107(1)(f), 137(1)(f) and 182(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution and was consequently unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect.
The suit, which was filed by one Nduka Edede of the Action Alliance (AA), sought the nullification of the said section of the Act.
However, the Owerri Division of the Court of Appeal on Monday, April 11, ordered Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and others to suspend the execution of the judgement of the Federal High Court which struck down section 84 (12) of the newly amended Electoral Act.
Apparently acting on the side of caution, the Kwara government has asked appointees with interest in forthcoming primary to resign their positions.
