Court upholds powers of N’Assembly to legislate on political parties’ nomination of candidates


A  Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday,  upheld the powers of the National Assembly to legislate on how political parties  nominate candidates for elections.
The court declined to invalidate Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
The section states procedure for the conduct of primaries by political parties seeking to nominate candidates for elections.
Trial judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke,  held that the exercise of the National Assembly’s regulatory powers as contained in Section 228 of the 1999 Constitution gave rise to the enactment of the Electoral Act, adding that all the sections/provisions of the Electoral Act apply to all political parties in Nigeria equally and without any discrimination.
Delivering judgment in a suit by  Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, which had sued the National Assembly and Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, seeking a  declaration that the provisions of Section 87 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) were inconsistent with the provisions of section 4 and 228 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the court held that the conduct of election into political offices was INEC’s exclusive duty.
“In doing so, there must be order. Section 87 is to ensure that there is a level-playing ground for all Nigerians. It is not targeted at the plaintiff only.  There is no merit in this application and it is hereby dismissed. There shall be no order as to cost,” the court said.
ACN had argued that the provision, being inconsistent, it was therefore “ultra vires (beyond the powers of) the National Assembly, null and void to the extent of their inconsistency

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