Reps move to make Appeal Court final arbiter in governorship election cases

A member of the House of Representatives, Bayo Balogun, says the chamber is pushing a bill to amend the 1999 Constitution to make the Court of Appeal the final arbiter in governorship election petitions. Balogun, who chairs the House Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission, disclosed this in an interview on Tuesday.

He explained that the proposal aims to shorten the electoral dispute process by removing the Supreme Court from governorship petition appeals. Under the bill, the tribunal period would be reduced to 90 days, with the appeal period cut to 50 days. There would be 21 days for filing petitions and 14 days for filing appeals, making a total of 185 days for the process.

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Balogun said the changes would require elections to be held earlier than February to allow all post-election cases to be resolved before the end of a governor’s tenure. The bill also seeks to ensure the Court of Appeal remains the final court for National and State House of Assembly election disputes.

The proposed legislation, titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Make the Court of Appeal the Final Appeal Court in Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly Election’, is sponsored by Nnamdi Ezechi, who represents Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani Constituency.