Election Sequence Bill: Court Okays NASS Powers To Override Buhari

The April 25 judgement of the Abuja Federal High Court preventing the National Assembly from overriding President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to assent to the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2018, has been overridden by the Appeal Court on Wednesday.

Recall that the National Assembly had recently moved to change the sequence of the 2019 general election as earlier scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The legislative arm of the Federal Government had sought to amend INEC’s original schedule, which had put the presidential election first in the sequence of the 2019 general elections.

The electoral body had placed the senatorial, governorship and House of Reps elections in the second, third and fourth positions in the sequence of the general elections.

The move by NASS to make the presidential election come last in the sequence had prompted the Acord Party to file a suit, urging the Federal High Court to refrain the legislative arm from amending INEC’s timetable for the elections.

In his ruling, Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the High Court had ordered the National Assembly, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and INEC who were all respondents in the suit to respect the original election sequence released by the electoral body.

Justice Mohammed specifically ruled that the National Assembly lacked the powers to amend INEC’s proposed timetable for the 2019 elections, but the ruling which the NASS appealed.

But in today’s ruling by the Appeal Court, the initial judgment of the Federal High Court was set aside as the Appellate Court recognised the Legislature’s powers to amend INEC’s election timetable.

The Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa-led four-member panel of justices ruled that the Federal High Court breached the Doctrine of the Separation of Powers in voiding the National Assembly’s powers to make and amend laws and bills.

According to Justice Bulkachuwa, Section 1 (1) of the 1999 Constitution provides that the Legislature has the sole powers to amend the election sequence bill as it had not been assented to.