Senators were on Tuesday sharply divided over recent judgement by a Federal High Court in Abia State which declared Section 84(12) of the new Electoral Act as illegal.
When the issue came up during plenary on Tuesday, there was however a heated debate by the Senators as it was between those who were for it or against the judgment.
Raising the matter, Senator George Sekibo, PDP, Rivers East spoke on the various functions of the three arms of government.
Sekibo who came under Order 10 and 11 of the Senate Standing Rules, urged his colleagues to suspend other activities and debate the issue, even as 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.
Sekibo said: “This issue is very important. 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.”
