On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the President’s lawsuit against the National Assembly in which he had contested the validity of the contentious section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act of 2022.
The Apex Court ruled that Buhari lacks the authority to reverse course and contest the validity of the Electoral Act after giving his assent to the Electoral Bill on February 25, 2022.
The Supreme Court deemed the action of Buhari in initiating the case to be a blatant abuse of court in a ruling written and delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim.
The President attempted to approve and disapprove simultaneously through the lawsuit, according to the Supreme Court, and this cannot be permitted.
In addition, the court ruled that Buhari lacks the authority granted by any law to order the National Assembly to pass laws.
The unanimous decision stated that Buhari lacked the constitutional authority to challenge the Electoral Act because he had given his assent to its creation.
Section 84(12) of the Electoral (as amended) Act, 2022, according to President Buhari and Malami, conflicts with the provisions of Sections 42(1), 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 147, 151, 177, 182, and 196 of the Constitution as well as Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
Although the National Assembly was named as the only respondent in the case at first, Rivers State subsequently applied and was added as an interested party through the Speaker of its House of Assembly and its Attorney-General.
Rivers state argued that section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 was neither a detraction from the provisions of section 84(3) of the same Act nor from the provision of sections 42(1), 65, 66, 107, 131, 137, 177, 182 and 192 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and there is no any abuse of the Constitution by the defendant in enacting the provisions in its preliminary objection filed before.
It was asserted that President Buhari had indisputably completed his obligation under the Constitution by signing the Electoral Bill.
Furthermore, the state’s attorney, Mr. Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, contended that a High Court should have heard the case because President Buhari did not object to the Legislature’s interference with his executive authority.
In the same vein, the National Assembly requested that the Supreme Court dismiss the case through its attorney, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, accusing both Malami and President Buhari of misusing the legal system. He contended that after signing off on the Electoral Act, President Buhari was powerless to revoke its provisions in court.
