A member of the House of Representatives, Bayo Balogun, has revealed that the green chamber is considering a constitutional amendment that would make the Court of Appeal the final authority on governorship election petitions in Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Balogun who chairs the House Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the proposed change is aimed at streamlining the judicial process and reducing delays in post-election cases.
“One advantage of that provision is that while the State and National Assembly are in the Tribunal, the presidential and governorship will be at the Appeal Court. By the time they move from the Appeal Court to the Supreme Court, the State and National Assembly cases will then be going to the Appeal Court, giving us a spread,” he explained.
According to him, the proposal seeks to reduce the tribunal period to 90 days, the appeal period to 50 days, while maintaining 21 days for filing petitions and 14 days for appeals making a total of 185 days before swearing-in.
Balogun said removing the provision from the Constitution and placing it in the Electoral Act would allow INEC to conduct elections earlier, ensuring all disputes are resolved before the end of a governor’s tenure.
If passed, the law will eliminate the current three-tier process for governorship disputes, which presently allows cases to move from the Tribunal to the Appeal Court and then to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court currently serves as the final arbiter for governorship election petitions, while the Appeal Court is the last stop for National and State Assembly cases.
The bill, sponsored by Nnamdi Ezechi, who represents Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani Constituency, is titled: “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Make the Court of Appeal the Final Appeal Court in Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly Election.”
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