The Nigerian Senate has resolved to appeal the judgement of a federal high court in Umuahia, ordering the deletion of Section 84 (12) of the 2022 electoral act.
The resolve reached during plenary on Wednesday followed a motion titled: “Urgent need to appeal judgement of the Federal High Court Umuahia on suit no.: FHC/UM/CS/26/2022 on Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.”
The motion was sponsored by Senator George Sekibo (Rivers East) and co-sponsored by 80 other lawmakers.
In similar manner, the House of Representatives, has urged the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami to hold action on deleting the controversial section.
Mr Malami had last week noted that the verdict of the lower court will be enforced, a decision that has drawn criticism from Nigerians.
During plenary on Wednesday, the green chamber said it would also petition the National Judicial Council (NJC) to discipline the judge while resolving to separately file appeal against the verdict.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said any tamper with the electoral act by the executive or an appointee of the executive would amount to usurping the powers expressly conferred on the National Assembly.
