Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and Presidential hopeful, Godswill Akpabio has stated that Section 84, sub-section 12 of the Electoral Act as amended, does not exist.
Recall that Section 8(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 mandates 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.”
Akpabio, who joined the presidential race on Wednesday after his declaration at the Ikot Ekpene Stadium in Akwa Ibom State, said he would only resign from his position as a minister if he is favoured by his party to get the presidential ticket.
The former Akwa Ibom State governor made the assertion during an interview on Channels Television Politics Today on Thursday.
He maintained that all appointees of President Muhammdu Buhari who are running for public offices are covered by the provisions of the constitution (as amended).
According to him, “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,”
“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.”
