We have power to set elections’ sequence, National Assembly tells Appeal Court

The National Assembly on Thursday revisited the controversial bill which sought to provide for the order in which the general elections must be conducted by insisting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja that it had the power to alter the sequence of the polls. The legislative arm of government represented by Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN) canvassed this position during the hearing of its appeal challenging the April 25, 2018 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had held otherwise. The National Assembly had sought to amend the Electoral Act through the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018 by altering the sequence in which the presidential, governorship, the federal and state legislative houses elections must be conducted, but later expunged the provision following the judgment of the Federal High Court. It later sent the revised version of the bill with the controversial provision expunged to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent. But insisted on Thursday that its revision of the bill did not take away its power to alter the sequence of the elections as provided in the Electoral Act. However, Accord Party, which instituted the suit that gave rise to the April 25 judgment of the Federal High Court, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN); and the Independent National Electoral Commission, on Thursday opposed the appeal. The trio of Accord Party, the AGF and INEC, argued through their respective lawyers, that the appeal had been overtaken by event and so should be dismissed by the Court of Appeal. They argued that the appeal was no longer relevant since the National Assembly had sent to President Buhari for assent a fresh Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018 from which the controversial section 25 had been removed. A five-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by the President of the court, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, after hearing all parties to the appeal through their respective lawyer, reserved judgment. The date of the judgment is to be communicated to the lawyers, Justice Bulkachuwa said at the end of the Thursday’s proceedings.]]>