The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday nullified judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja which struck down the National Assembly’s election re-ordering provision of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2018.
Though the controversial section of the bill was removed and its revised edition was resent to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent, the Court of Appeal held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place.
The President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, who headed a five-man panel of the court, held in her lead judgment that the suit was premature on the grounds that a bill could not be challenged in the law court until it became an Act.
Upholding the appeal by the National Assembly, the appellate court also held that the Accord Party which filed the suit before the Federal High Court lacked the locus standi to file the matter.
Justice Bulkachuwa held that since the bill did not affect its rights or the obligations of the party, the “general interest” available to the public did not confer the rights on it to challenge the bill
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