The House of Representatives is currently deliberating on a bill that seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. If passed, the amendment would make the Court of Appeal the final authority in resolving disputes related to governorship elections as well as elections for National and State Houses of Assembly.
The bill, sponsored by Nnamdi Ezechi, the lawmaker representing Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, and Ukwani Federal Constituency in Delta State, successfully passed its second reading during plenary on Tuesday.
Taking the House through the general principles of the bill, Ezechi said the proposed legislation seeks to alter the provision of sub-section (3) of Section 246 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The bill seeks to delete the existing subsection (3) and substitute a new subsection (3) to read “The decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from the Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly election Petitions shall be final.”
He said, “Mr Speaker, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Second Alteration) Act of 2010 altered section 246 subsection (1) by providing in paragraphs (b) and (c) that appeals to the Court of Appeal shall be as of right from the decisions of the National and State Houses of Assembly and decisions of the Governorship Election Tribunals as to whether a person has been validly elected as a lawmaker or a governor or whether his tenure has ceased or his seat has become vacant.
“The Second alteration specifically provided in section 246 subsection (3) that the decisions of the Court of Appeal arising from the National and State Houses of Assembly election petition shall be final.
“However, the amendment did not say anything about the Governorship Election Petition thereby allowing all governorship election petitions to proceed to the apex Court (Supreme Court).
“This bill is trying to amend the present provision of Section 246 subsection (3) by making the Court of Appeal the final appeal Court for all election petitions.”
According to the Peoples Democratic Party lawmaker, “This would enable the final winner of a governorship election to be known without delay. If the person declared as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission wins in the Court of Appeal, it would allow him to settle down and face the business of governance without distraction.”
He also emphasized that resolving election disputes at the appellate court level would reduce costs, stating, “If these petitions were to be concluded at the Court of Appeal, it would significantly minimize the financial burden on the parties involved in pursuing such cases to the Supreme Court.”
He went on to explain, “It’s important to note that the original provision of Section 246(1)(b) clearly stipulated that an appeal shall lie as of right from the decisions of the National Assembly Election Tribunals, as well as the Governorship and Legislative Houses Tribunals, concerning the issues outlined above.”
“Subsection (3) of the aforementioned section explicitly states that decisions made by the Court of Appeal regarding appeals arising from election petitions shall be final.
Following its adoption, the bill was forwarded to the House Committee on Constitution Review, which is chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, for further legislative consideration.”
