Presidential hopeful and Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, has stated that would not bow to a new directive issued by the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress mandating all political appointees who aspire to participate in the May primary elections at all levels to resign at least 30 days before the conduct of the primaries, as he was not aware of such directive.
Ngige maintained that he had no idea about the directive, saying it was his constitutional right to run for the country’s highest office.
He stated that since the March 18 judgment of the Federal High Court in Umuahia struck out section 84(12) of the recently signed Electoral Act 2022, he was under no pressure to resign.
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“I don’t know about that. I’m hearing it for the first time from you. But like I always say, I’ll be guided by the letters and spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“That aspect of the law enacted by the National Assembly, via the Electoral Act, that section 84(12), has been struck down by a court of law and the cases are on appeal. And for now, no matter how bad the judgment is, that’s the maximum jurisprudence. No matter how bad the law is, it is a judgment of court, it should be obeyed, until upturned or stayed.
“But there is no stay, there’s no atonement of that particular pronouncement, and the party is on appeal. So the judgment is still subsisting. That aspect of the law was injurious to some persons and should not have been there.
“I also know that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Sections 107, 137 and 88, prescribes disqualification clauses for people who are going for election and that prescription is supreme, because it’s in the constitution and the constitution is the grand-norm of all laws.”
