The recent ruling of an Abuja High Court over poll sequencing has been described as an attempt to obstruct legislative process. A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Peter Akpatason (Edo-APC), who made the observation at the weekend, expressed optimism that Supreme Court would upturn the ruling.
According to him, the court’s ruling negates the provisions of the law, stressing that the court would have allowed the National Assembly to complete the entire process of election sequence before offering its opinion based on the position of the law.
“I think in the first place, it is expected that the court should have allowed the entire process to be completed and then, they can go ahead and give an opinion about it based on the position of law. “Ideally, this is an ongoing process, and until a bill becomes law, an attempt by the court to adjudicate over it will amount to obstructing legislative process and it’s against the provisions of the law.
“In any case, as a person, I don’t think it is right; I don’t think it is correct that the legislature does not have the powers to legislate on the sequence of elections. “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that they are talking about is a creation of a piece of legislation and we have the power to review, improve upon and to abrogate any piece of legislation,” the lawmaker said.
“I don’t see how it can be defended anywhere that the legislature does not have the powers. I am one of those legislators who believe that the matter should be taken to the Supreme Court. “We have seen situations like this in the past where the lower court’s intervention to solve a particular problem even when it is clear to them that ultimately, at the Supreme Court, the situation is going to change,” he warned.
