Abuja-based legal practitioner, Muhammed Mustapha Belgore, in this interview with THISDAY, argues that laws need to be amended to ensure election petitions are dispensed with before president and governors are sworn in.Belgore
As for APM, the Supreme Court had cleared Shettima of the allegation of double nomination. The infallible Supreme Court had delivered a judgement to the effect that he had relinquished his senatorial nomination before being nominated for Vice-President and the Court of Appeal was bound by the decision on the basis of stare decices. So that allegation was dead on arrival.
Now to the issue of Section 134 of the 1999 constitution which I do not need to reproduce here. It was not a provision drafted by the lawmakers so as to make the Federal Capital Territory superior to every other state. The contention was that the provision had the term “and” in it which meant it was conjunctive.However the Justices of the PEPT and judicial officers generally in their wisdom interpret laws not by the letters but by trying to understand the wisdom of the draftsmen.
With the fact that petitioners have to file their cases within 21 days of the announcement of the election results and the size of Nigeria, do you think a presidential election petition can ever succeed in this country with the existing laws?Why not? If the lawyers have sufficient grounds for the petitions and not just watery issues for which they are happy to have their briefs perfected, 21 days is enough time.
In view of the controversy the election results and the litigation have generated, what reforms and constitutional amendments will you recommend to INEC and National Assembly respectively?Just one and it is very simple.
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