•Propose termination of governorship poll disputes at Court of Appeal

The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill proposing the conduct of presidential, gubernatorial, National and State Houses of Assembly, and local government polls on the same day.

The proposed legislation was among 39 Constitution alteration bills passed for second reading and referred to the Committee on Constitution Review at yesterday’s plenary.

The bill, which is sponsored by the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive, Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, and 34 others, proposes the simultaneous conduct of all the elections on a date to be determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Electoral Act 2022 provides for the conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections on the same day and the conduct of gubernatorial and state assembly elections, as well as local government elections, on a separate date to be fixed by the electoral body.

Similarly, the House approved for second reading a bill proposing the determination of all appeals from Election Petition Tribunals before the swearing-in of the President-elect, Vice President-elect, as well as members-elect of the National and State Assemblies.

The bill, which is sponsored by Mansur Manu Soro and titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Determination of All Appeals Arising from Election Petition Tribunals Prior to the Swearing-in of President-elect, Vice President-elect, Governor-elect, Deputy Governor-elect, Members-elect of the National and State Assemblies and for Related Matters,” proposes an alteration of Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The proposed alteration reads: “That all appeals arising from the presidential, governorship, National and State Assemblies election petition tribunals shall be determined by the appellate courts prior to the swearing-in of candidates returned as winners by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

Furthermore, the parliament is also seeking to alter the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to make the Court of Appeal the final arbiter in litigations arising from governorship, National, and State Assembly elections.

The bill is sponsored by the member representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani Federal Constituency of Delta, Nnamdi Ezechi.

Currently, Section 233 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) vests in the Supreme Court the power to determine the validity of a gubernatorial election, while Section 246(3) of the Constitution provides that the Court of Appeal shall be the final arbiter in disputes arising from National and State Assembly elections.

Also, the Green Chamber passed for second reading a bill for the establishment of the National Local Government Electoral Commission to be tasked with the conduct of local government elections in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The bill, which is sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, and six others, according to the sponsors, is intended to ensure “the credibility, transparency, and fairness of local government elections and promote democratic governance at the grassroots level.”

Furthermore, the House passed a bill to alter the Constitution to specify the timeframe within which the Executive shall present to the National Assembly any treaty between Nigeria and any other country.

The proposed legislation, which is also sponsored by Kalu, stipulates that any treaty between Nigeria and any other country shall be presented to the National Assembly not later than 180 days for ratification. (Daily Sun)