The Nigerian Senate is reportedly making moves to stop High Courts all across the country from presiding over pre- election matters.
The Deputy-Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central) is sponsoring a bill to amend provisions of the 1999 constitution to bar Federal, State and FCT High Courts from entertaining Pre-election disputes from elective congresses of political party.
The new bill passed second reading on the floor of the Senate yesterday. Ovie Omo-Agege wants the Senate to alter Section 272 of the Principal Act by inserting a new subsection after subsection 3.
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Excerpts from the new subsection reads;
“Nothing in this section shall empower the High Court of a State to entertain a dispute from a member of a political party challenging the actions or decisions of a political party in respect of the election of a principal officer or member of its executive committee or other governing body following from a congress, conference, convention or other meeting convened by that political party for the purpose of electing such principal officers or members.
“This Act may be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fifth Alteration, No. 29) Act, 2020,” the proposed provision concluded.