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From Fred Itua, Abuja
A recent judgment by a Federal High Court in Abia State that declared as illegal Section 84(12) of the new Electoral Act caused a heated debate on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.
Trouble started when Thomson Sekibo from Rivers State, led his colleagues through the various functions of the three arms of government.
He argued that the ruling by the court nullifying their action is bad precedence that must not be allowed to stand. He said if allowed to stand, future actions of the Parliament will be challenged in Courts by interested parties.
Relying on Orders 10 and 11 of the Senate Standing Rules, Sekibo urged his colleagues to suspend other activities and debate the issue.
‘This issue is very important,’ he said. ‘Those who went to court to challenge our action didn’t include us as an interested party. We were not even aware that a matter was even in court.
‘Suddenly, we were told that a judgment was given and the Federal Government immediately gazetted it. This is dangerous and we need to take a position immediately. This is important to guide against such occurrences.’
