By Gloria Ikibah

A bill to amend the 1999 Constitution to make the Court of Appeal the final court in disputes involving governorship, and National and State Houses of Assembly elections in Nigeria has passed second in the House of Representatives on Tuesday at plenary.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Nnamdi Ezechi, member representing Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwani Federal Constituency of Delta State, seeks to delete some sections of the Constitution.

Debating the general principles of the bill, Rep. Ezechi said the proposed legislation seeks to alter the provision of sub-section (3) of Section 246 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The bill seeks to delete the existing subsection (3) and substitute a new subsection (3) to read “The decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from the Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly election Petitions shall be final.”

“Mr Speaker, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Second Alteration) Act of 2010 altered section 246 subsection (1) by providing in paragraphs (b) and (c) that appeals to the Court of Appeal shall be as of right from the decisions of the National and State Houses of Assembly and decisions of the Governorship Election Tribunals as to whether a person has been validly elected as a lawmaker or a governor or whether his tenure has ceased or his seat has become vacant.

“The Second alteration specifically provided in section 246 subsection (3) that the decisions of the Court of Appeal arising from the National and State Houses of Assembly election petition shall be final.

“However, the amendment did not say anything about the Governorship Election Petition thereby allowing all governorship election petitions to proceed to the apex Court (Supreme Court).

“This bill is trying to amend the present provision of Section 246 subsection (3) by making the Court of Appeal the final appeal Court for all election petitions”, he said.

According to the lawmakers, “This would enable the final winner of a governorship election to be known without delay.  If the person declared as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission wins in the Court of Appeal, it would allow him to settle down and face the business of governance without distraction.”

He also noted that terminating election disputes at the appellate court would save cost, saying, “If such petitions end in the Court of Appeal, it would reduce the financial resources being wasted by the parties in prosecuting such cases to the Supreme Court.”

He continued, “We should note that the original provision of Section 246 (1)(b) stated that an appeal shall lie as of right from the decisions of the National Assembly Election Tribunals and Governorship and Legislative Houses Tribunals on the issues mentioned above.

“Subsection (3) of the said section clearly stated that the decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from election petitions shall be final.”

Following its adoption, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu for further legislative actions.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Independent Electoral Commission, INEC has queried the process adopted in the petition filed by Kogi Central constituents against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Naijablitznews reports this was contained in a statement issued and signed by Sam Olumekun
National Commissioner & Chairman
Information and Voter Education Committee
Tuesday 25th March 2025.

In the statement it was stressed that: “Among other issues, the meeting discussed the petition for the recall of the Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.

“The process of recall is enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 as well as the Commission’s detailed Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, available on our website. All petitions will be treated in strict compliance with the legal framework.

“The petition from Kogi Central Senatorial District was accompanied by six bags of documents said to be signatures collected from over half of the 474,554 registered voters spread across 902 Polling Units in 57 Registration Areas (Wards) in the five Local Government Areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi and Okene.

“The Commission’s immediate observation is that the representatives of the petitioners did not provide their contact address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address(es) in the covering letter forwarding the petition through which they can be contacted as provided in Clause 1(f) of our Regulations and Guidelines. The address given is “Okene, Kogi State”, which is not a definite location for contacting the petitioners. Only the telephone number of “the lead petitioner” is provided as against the numbers of all the other representatives of the petitioners.

“The Commission wishes to reiterate that the recall of a legislator is the prerogative of registered voters in a constituency who sign a petition indicating loss of confidence in the legislator representing them. Once the petition meets the requirements of submission, as contained in our regulations, the Commission shall commence the verification of the signatures in each Polling Unit in an open process restricted to registered voters that signed the petition only.

“The petitioners and the member whose recall is sought shall be at liberty to nominate agents to observe the verification, while interested observers and the media will also be accredited. At each Polling Unit, signatories to the petition shall be verified using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

“Consequently, if the petitioners fully comply with the requirements of Clause 1(f) of the Regulations and Guidelines regarding the submission of their petition, the Commission will announce the next steps in line with the extant laws, regulations and guidelines. In the absence of a definite contact address, the Commission is making efforts to use other means to notify the representatives of the petitioners of the situation.

“The Commission reassures the public that it will be guided by the legal framework for recall. The public should therefore discountenance any speculations and insinuations in the social media.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Determined to curb unemployment in the country, the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust (NSITF) is to partner the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), by providing social safety nets that would enhance job creation in Nigeria.

Giving this assurance in his goodwill message at the resettlement of beneficiaries under the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative organized by the NDE in Abuja, the Managing Director of NSITF, Barrister Oluwaseun Faleye, said skills of this nature at this level is what we need to stimulate the economy in the country.

Buttressing the importance of such initiative, the NSITF MD, noted that “Efforts like this create a huge boost to the Informal sector of the economy and should be strengthened to meet the aspirations of many underprivileged Nigerians and the beneficiaries.

“Continuous initiative like this will further help decrease the unemployment net in the country.

” At NSITF, we would continue to be partners with NDE with emphasis on economic growth, job creation,and poverty alleviation, which is in alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda of this government.

” We would continue to provide the support and social safety nets to help curb unemployment in the country with our several efforts in this direction,” Faleye added

The Renewed Hope Employment Initiative, which is to enhance job creation had 250 beneficiaries who were presented with starter pack, was designed to enhance the impact of the NDE’s core programme by aligning them more closely with market demands and national priorities.

The strategic plan outlines specific goals, such as increasing the employability of trainees, supporting the establishment of small-scale enterprises, promoting agricultural productivity, improving rural infrastructure and providing transient jobs.