Be wise, lawyers warn politicians running for offices and still keeping their jobs
SENIOR legal practitioners have continued to comment on the appeal court ruling regarding the contentious section 84 ( 12) of the Electoral Act, warning politicians to resign in accordance with the president’s directive to avoid losing their victories at the end, if the apex court holds that they ought not to have participated in the contest.
Former Deputy Director, Nigerian Law School, Prof Ernest Ojukwu ( SAN), said though the Appeal Court set aside the judgment of the High Court, Umuahia, they also gave an opinion on the constitutionality of that provision of the Electoral Act.
He said the opinion was based on no issue because they had already struck out the matter and decided that there was no ground to hear it at all.
That opinion, having been made, he pointed out, becomes the law, unless it is set aside.
“The opinion expressed by the court is called obiter in law because there was nothing before them anymore to decide. That opinion contradicts their decision in locus.
“However, even when a court decision is wrong, you still have a duty to obey it until it is set aside. So, their opinion destroyed their judgment that says that the plaintiff lacked locus. The court overreached itself in giving that opinion. The court has no right to say you don’t have locus and went ahead to interpret the law for us.
“If the decision of the court of appeal was based on section 42 ( 1) ( a) they were also wrong. That section talks about those you shouldn’t discriminate against. It went ahead to list them. It said you shouldn’t be discriminated against on grounds of your community, ethnicity, religion, sex or political opinion. There is nothing in that section that says you shouldn’t discriminate against somebody on grounds of political appointment.
“If you look at the Court of Appeal argument on section 42 of the constitution relating to who should not be discriminated against, you will see that they were struggling to include political appointees in the word “community” instead of just interpreting the words of the constitution using the literal interpretation.
“Meanwhile, our courts are crying that they are overworked with cases and yet they easily delve into political issues and fish for all kinds of interpretations to justify very wide interpretation of the constitution and our laws, thereby, opening a flood gate of litigations,” he said.
He held that if the president doesn’t fire the ambitious politicians, his work will be at a standstill.
Former National Legal Adviser of the All Progressive Congress ( APC), Dr. Muiz Banire ( SAN), agreed with the Appeal Court.
According to him political appointees who want to run for elective offices cannot sit pretty tight and still run for offices.
His words: “They cannot do it. And the President has the right to ask them to resign, even beyond the law because they are appointees. If they refuse to resign, he will have to sack them, having given the directive.”