The Attorney-General of the Federation and minster of justice Mr Abubakar Malami said his office would soon comply with the court order that he should expunge Section 84 (12) from the Electoral Act, 2022.
Malami issued the statement to newsmen in Abuja.
This is just as the Senate and the House of Representatives separately condemned the court order and vowed to take immediate action on it.
Recall that a Federal High Court in Umuahia had last Friday declared illegal Section 84(12) of the Act, which stipulates that all political appointees must resign before taking part in primaries.
Addressing journalists after the virtual Federal Executive Council meeting, Malami said he would give effect to the judgment soon, adding that machinery had been set in motion for that purpose.
Asked about the progress on the court’s ruling, Malami said the process was still on.
He stated, “My clear response is the fact that truly there exists a court judgment. By the judgment, the court directed the office of the attorney-general to take necessary steps to delete the provision, which in essence implies that the provision should not form part of our laws.
Whether it has been deleted or has not been deleted is indeed a function of agencies of government and associated relevant parastatals, but the true position of it in that respect is the fact that government printers, and indeed the Law Reform Commission, among others, that are responsible for the codification and gazetting of our laws, are working naturally with the office of the attorney-general to ensure that what goes into our laws are indeed in line with the provisions of the law.
“So what I am saying in essence is that it is indeed a work in progress against the background of the fact that the Law Reform Commission is involved statutorily, which is a parastatal under the office of the attorney-general, is a party to the process of codification. The government printers, which are saddled with the responsibility of gazetting our laws on the request of the office of the attorney-general, are equally involved.”
He noted that the possibility of an appeal was also there, adding that “deletion of Section 84(12) is a work in progress and is being considered as such.”
