File photo of members of the House of Representatives
The House of Representatives has advanced a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to make the Court of Appeal the final arbiter on governorship election petitions in Nigeria. If passed, the bill will remove the Supreme Court from the appeal process in governorship disputes.
The proposed legislation titled, “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Make the Court of Appeal the Final Appeal Court in Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly Election is sponsored by Nnamdi Ezechi, member representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani.
The bill was read for a second time in the House on Tuesday, but lawmakers suspended their rules to pass it without debate.
Under the current system, governorship election disputes can be escalated from the tribunal to the Court of Appeal and ultimately to the Supreme Court. The Supreme is the final court for governorship election petitions, while the Court of Appeal is the final court for National and State House of Assembly election cases.
The Bill seeks to ammend Section 246(3) which states that “The decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from election petitions shall be final” concerning National and state houses of assembly election”, by extending this provision to governorship elections.
Critics including lawyer have argued that escalating petitions to the Supreme Court prolongs legal battles and delays political stability in affected states while also overburdening the apex court. However, some political analysts believe that eliminating Supreme Court oversight could compromise the quality of final judgments and reduce safeguards against judicial errors. (BusinessDay)
