Governor Abubakar Sani-Bello of Niger State has directed all political appointees and other public servants aspiring for elective offices in the forthcoming 2023 general elections to tender their resignations on or before 31st March, 2022.
The directive was contained in a press statement issued on Monday by the Secretary to the State Government, Ahmed Matane.
According to the statement, the directive is in adherence to the recent Electoral Act signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, which provides that ‘political appointees and public servants’ aspiring to contest elections must resign their positions before the conduct of party primaries.
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The SSG, subsequently ordered that, “in compliance with this provision, all Political Appointees and other Public Servants serving in both State and Local Governments should submit their letters of resignation to the Office of Secretary to the State Government on or before 31st March, 2022”.
“This is for your information and strict compliance please”, the statement added.
A controversial clause, section 84 (12), of the recently signed Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 had provided that “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
The senate overwhelmingly rejected a request for amendment by President Muhammadu Buhari who argued that the clause amounts to restricting and disqualifying serving political office holders which are constitutionally accorded protection.
However, a Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia a few days ago nullified the section while ordering the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to delete it from the Act.
The court ruled that the said section of the amended Electoral Act was inconsistent with Sections 66(1)(f), 107(1)(f), 137(1)(f) and 182(1)(f) of the 1999 Constitution and was consequently unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect.
Meanwhile, a top government source who spoke to THE WHISTLER said the move was to protect the appointees and their political parties from uncertainties that could arise from the appeal.
“We are not sure of how the matter will go in the court of appeal or even Supreme Court, so it’s better to play it safe and err on the side of caution.
“We don’t want a situation where an aspirant is disqualified after winning at the polls. It’s bad for them, it’s bad for the party. So we are basically protecting them,” the source added.