The National Assembly on Wednesday resolved to write the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, over the ruling of a Federal High Court, Abuja, restraining it from further action on the Electoral Act which was amended.
The National Assembly had amended the Electoral Act to reorder the sequence of election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had scheduled the presidential election to come first, but in the amendment by the National Assembly, it was scheduled to come last.
President Muhammadu Buhari has however refused to approve the act, arguing that the amendment was a violation of the right of INEC.
But in a new twist to the matter, on Wednesday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered the National Assembly to suspend actions on the Electoral Act.
The order followed a suit filed by Accord Party on Wednesday.
Accord Party went to court to challenge the propriety of the amendment to the Electoral Act by the Legislature.
The party’s counsel, Wole Olanipekun, sought the court’s assent for a “preservative order” which was granted.
The order, the judge said, was to preserve the substance of the main suit.
He said the essence of the suit would be lost if the National Assembly went ahead to override the president in approving the amendment.
The order remains till March 17, the adjourned date.
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Reacting to the development, the Senate decided to write Onnoghen over the matter.
The decision followed a motion on the floor of the Senate by the Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio.
Akpabio said there was need to take up the matter to avoid a reoccurrence.
His words: “The issue really is not the bill itself, it has to do with due process and parliamentary functions. I am worried about the situation of powers as enshrined in our constitution.
“Can the court really rule an injunction, expatriate or otherwise, to stop the parliament from carrying out its constitutional duties? I have looked through the Nigerian constitution, and in my view, I don’t think it is right for the court to interfere in the affairs of the parliament, particularly when we are in the process of making legislation. We cannot be stopped by an injunction.
“But be that as it may, I believe strongly that we also do not have the power to arrest a court judgement while the proceedings are going on and because of separation of powers.”
