Nigeria?s electoral system is bedeviled by many challenges. They range from electoral malpractices, the inadequacies or lacunae in the electoral laws, to the structural limitations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the effect of the plethora of cases arising from elections. This has necessitated a series of amendments to the legal instruments governing elections in the country including the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered).

Thus, the recent mulling by the House of Representatives of a bill to amend the 1999 Constitution to make the Court of Appeal the final court for resolving disputes related to governorship, National Assembly, and State Houses of Assembly elections in Nigeria is a welcome development. If it sails through, the bill will, to a large extent, resolve the issue of off-cycle elections and their humongous cost and distraction of elected officials from governance.

The bill, sponsored by Nnamdi Ezechi, representing the Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwani federal constituency in Delta state, passed its second reading on the floor of the House during plenary on Tuesday, March, 26, 2025.

Explaining the general principles of the bill, Ezechi noted that the proposed legislation seeks to amend Section 246 of the 1999 Constitution, particularly subsection (3). The bill proposes deleting the current subsection (3) and replacing it with a new provision that reads: ?The decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from the Governorship, National and State Houses of Assembly election petitions shall be final.?

He explained, ?Mr. Speaker, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Second Alteration) Act of 2010 amended Section 246, subsection (1), by providing that appeals to the Court of Appeal shall be as of right from the decisions of the National and State Houses of Assembly and Governorship Election Tribunals. These appeals concern the validity of elections and the tenure of lawmakers or governors.

?However, the Second Alteration did not address governorship election petitions, which allowed such cases to proceed to the Supreme Court. This bill seeks to amend Section 246, subsection (3), to make the Court of Appeal the final court for all election petitions, including those related to governorship elections.?

Ezechi argued that this amendment would ensure that the winner of a governorship election is determined without delay. ?If the person declared as winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is affirmed by the Court of Appeal, they can focus on governance without further distractions,? he said.

The lawmaker also highlighted that ending election disputes at the appellate court would reduce costs. ?Having petitions end at the Court of Appeal will save significant financial resources, as it eliminates the need for the parties to take cases to the Supreme Court.?

He emphasised that the original provision of Section 246 (1)(b) already allowed appeals as of right from the National Assembly Election Tribunals and Governorship and Legislative Houses Tribunals. The proposed amendment, he said, would ensure that the Court of Appeal?s decisions on election petitions are final, streamlining the legal process.

Following the adoption of the bill, it was referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, for further legislative action.

It is instr?ctive that INEC had urged the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC) to identify strategies that would reduce violence and litigations in the Nigeria?s electoral process. The chairman of the commission, Professor Yakubu Mahmood, made the call recently when the Council of ICMC, led by its President, Barrister Emeka Obegolu, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

Professor Yakubu noted that there was a lot the commission and the ICMC could achieve in ensuring that elections were free, fair and devoid of rancour. He said, ?If we can mediate and if all of us can be on the same page, we can conduct our elections seamlessly, less litigation, less the amount of money spent in prosecuting those processes of litigation and our elections would always be conclusive?.

While stressing the important role of Alternative Dispute Resolution in the electoral process, the INEC chairman regretted that the Nigerian political space was conflict prone; adding that where ever the commission had difficulty, it was simply because of violence. Professor Yakubu disclosed that the commission had been dragged to court over 1000 times since the 2015 general elections, adding that ?this is always at a cost to the commission and the country.

The INEC chairman noted that ?It would be ultimately cheaper for everybody if we have a seamless process and that process can be achieved not just by the legislation enabling us to conduct elections and legal processes but also the intervention of Institutes such as the ICMC?.

He said the visit was to further solidify and strengthen the partnership with the commission as well as chart a way forward for the deployment of ADR tool in other aspects of the electoral process to reduce litigations, violence and advance the cause of democracy in Nigeria.

Blueprint endorses the move by the House of Representatives for a constitutional amendment to make the Court of Appeal the final court for resolving disputes related to governorship, National Assembly, and State Houses of Assembly elections in the country. It is obvious that subjecting these election cases, which are usually huge, up to the apex court, has proved to be counter-productive as they linger deep into the term of the elected officials who may eventually be removed from office.

Besides the disruption of governance, the off-cycle elections resulting from lingering litigations have also been a drain on the nation?s lean financial resources. Earmarking a whopping N10.5 billion for the conduct of the Edo and Ondo governorship elections in 2025, underscores the gravity of the situation and the need for its urgent reform. (Blueprint Editorial)

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