Ministers and other political appointees of President Muhammadu Buhari nursing political aspirations are in a dilemma on their next line of action just as the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for political parties to conduct primaries draws near.
Based on the new Electoral Act, the ministers and other aides of the president are expected to resign in order to be eligible to contest any elective positions in next year’s general elections.
Though President Buhari is silent on the controversy over the resignation of his aides, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in its March national convention, had barred political appointees from voting as delegates.
Section 84 of the new Electoral Act stipulates that anyone holding a political office – ministers, commissioners, special advisers and others – must relinquish the position before they can be eligible to participate in the electoral process, either as candidates or delegates.
Last week, APC national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, urged political appointees to resign before the primaries of the party, despite an Umuahia Federal High Court ruling, striking down Section 84(12).
Part of Section 84 of the Act states: “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.â€
