Benue State University, Makurdi

An Overview of the Limit of the Powers of the National Assembly to Legislate on the Conduct of Elections in Nigeria

Ter Alex Adum*

Abstract

In the build up to the 2019 general elections, the National Assembly amended the Electoral Act, 2010 by the enactment of the Electoral Amendment Bill (EAB) 2018. The EAB, amongst other things, amended Section 25 (order of the sequence of elections), Section 138 (grounds of election petition) and Section 152 (delegation of powers/registration of voters and the procedure for the conduct of Local Government elections) of the Electoral Act 2010. The President declined assent. The matter went to Court and the Court ruled against the National Assembly, but upon appeal, the decision of the lower Court was set-aside without the Appellate Court delving into the merit of the case. This article is an attempt to examine whether the amendment to Sections 25, 138 and 152 of the Electoral Act 2010 infringed the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 (as amended) or any other Law as alleged by the President. Using the doctrinal methodology of research, the article examined the relevant constitutional/legal provisions and case law, and established that there is no constitutional impediment to the National Assembly proposing and carrying out any amendment to the Constitution or any existing legislation enacted by it in accordance with its powers under sections 4(2) & (58) of the Constitution. To this end, the article recommends that the judiciary should be cautious not to submit itself to be used by the Executive to trample on the powers of the Legislature, advocates the 9 th National Assembly to reenact the provisions of the EAB 2018 to strengthen the administration of Nigeria’s electoral process and urges the President to work in concert with the National Assembly and assent to a new EAB as soon as passed.

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