Amaechi, Nigige, Mallami, Others Can Contest Without Resigning- Appeal Court Rules

The ruling by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has on Wednesday upheld that government appointees can now contest the forthcoming general election without necessarily resigning their position.

With the new ruling by the court, Buhari’s Ministers such as Rotimi Amaechi, Ogbonnaya Onu, Abubakar Malami, Chris Ngige, among others, may not need to resign their appointments before contesting the 2023 elections.

The Appellate Court had held that the provision is unconstitutional because it violates Section 42(1a) of the Constitution and denied a class of Nigerian citizens their right to participate in an election.

Meanwhile, the Court also set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in Umuahia which voided the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022.

While delivering judgment on Wednesday, the three-member panel headed by Justice Hamma Barka held that the Federal High Court, Umuahia, had no jurisdiction to have entertained the case as the plaintiff, Nduka Edede, lacked the locus standi to have filed the suit in the first instance.

The court added that Mister Edede did not establish any cause of action to have warranted him approaching the court on the issue because he did not establish that he was directly affected by the provision.

The Court of Appeal therefore struck out the suit which Edede filed before the Umuahia court.