Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio has insisted that section 84, sub-section 12 of the Electoral Act as amended, does not bother him as he can only follow what the constitution of the country says.
According to the minister, asking him to resign before his party’s primaries is unconstitutional, insisting that he will only resign as soon as he secures his party’s ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
Recall that section 84, sub-section 12 of teh electoral act holds that appointees of government seeking electoral offices are expected to resign before the commencement of primaries.
The section has continued to generate controversies as Nigerian lawmakers (National Assembly) have continued to insist that appointees should quit their job before the primaries.
But contrary to their position, an Abia State division of the Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia had declared the section unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and ineffective.
The National Assembly in its strong argument on the matter has also filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Owerri, insisting that the section must not be yanked off.
But Akpabio, who is aspiring for the office of teh president has dismissed the section, insisting that he and other appointees will only obey the nation’s constitution and not the section in the electoral act.
He said he can only resign as a minister once he secures his party’s ticket.
“In terms of section 84(12), it speaks about elections. If you wish to go into primary, you should try to resign before you go there,” Akpabio began during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday.
“Even before Mr. President signed the bill, he had mentioned that it was not in line with the Nigerian constitution which contemplates 30 days before elections.
“So, no matter the act of parliament, no matter the law, the constitution is superior to any act of parliament. Moreover, it was shut down by a court of competent jurisdiction somewhere in Umuahia. So for now that law doesn’t exist.
“I would have been worried about how the appeal would go but for the constitution. It depends on the constitution at the end of the day. It’s not a constitutional amendment.
“If you want to amend the constitution of Nigeria, you can go ahead and do it. But I want to advise that anybody who is lucky enough to pick the ticket of his party, particularly the Presidency, should immediately resign in order to go round the entire country, not just to sell himself but also to sell the programmes of the next administration to Nigerians. As soon as my party gives me the ticket, which I pray they do, I’ll immediately resign.”
