The House of Representatives is considering a bill to amend the 1999 Constitution to make the Court of Appeal the final court in disputes involving governorship, and National and State Houses of Assembly elections in Nigeria.

The bill sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwani Federal Constituency, Delta State, Nnamdi Ezechi, passed second reading on the floor of the House during plenary on Tuesday.

Taking the House through the general principles of the bill, Ezechi said the proposed legislation seeks to alter the provision of sub-section (3) of Section 246 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The bill seeks to delete the existing subsection (3) and substitute a new subsection (3) to read “The decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from the Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly election Petitions shall be final.”

He said, “Mr Speaker, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Second Alteration) Act of 2010 altered section 246 subsection (1) by providing in paragraphs (b) and (c) that appeals to the Court of Appeal shall be as of right from the decisions of the National and State Houses of Assembly and decisions of the Governorship Election Tribunals as to whether a person has been validly elected as a lawmaker or a governor or whether his tenure has ceased or his seat has become vacant.

“The Second alteration specifically provided in section 246 subsection (3) that the decisions of the Court of Appeal arising from the National and State Houses of Assembly election petition shall be final.


https://punchng.com/reps-seek-to-end-supreme-court-involvement-in-elections-dispute/