Suit Against Electoral Act Amendment Not Achieving President Buhari’s Aim – Accord Party

By Ismail Kolapo

The national chairman of Accord party, Mr Muhamed Lawal Lalado has denied insinuations that the party is working for the interest of President Muhammadu Buhari to caution the National Assembly on its amendment of the electoral act.

He said Accord party is demanding for due process as enshrined in the constitution and that the National Assembly has no power to override the independence of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.

Featuring on a radio programme monitored by our correspondent in Osogbo on Friday, Lawal said that the National Assembly failed to inform the INEC chairman about its plans to change the sequence of the 2019 general elections before its schedule for amendment at the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.

He added among the issues considered before filing the suit against the National Assembly at the Federal High Court in Abuja is the financial aspect of election with the present situation of the Nigerian economy.

The Accord Party Chair said the re-ordering of the election timetable will cost the nation more than N2b when the current state of the economy is nothing to write home about.

Mr Lawal said that the party took the Senate to court for proper interpretation of the constitution to know whether they have constitutional right to amend the electoral act without informing INEC.

In the same vein, a Law Lecturer from of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Mr. Misbau Lateef while reacting on the program urged the people at helm of affairs to put national interest first before reordering elections.

The Legal Practitioner said in-spite the powers of the federal lawmakers to amend the electoral act under section (vi) of the 1999 constitution, the powers does not extend to determine the sequence of the election.

He however charged the National Assembly to follow due process of electoral amendment to the constitution.