A proposed constitutional amendment before the House of Representatives seeks to make the Court of Appeal the highest court for governorship election disputes, effectively removing the Supreme Court from the process.
Bayo Balogun, Chairman of the House Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), disclosed this during an appearance on Politics Today on Tuesday. The bill, sponsored by Nnamdi Ezechi (Ndokwa East/Ndokwa West/Ukwuani), also covers National and State Houses of Assembly election cases.
Balogun explained that the amendment aims to streamline the election litigation process by reducing the tribunal stage to 90 days and appeals to 50 days, with 21 days allowed for filing petitions and 14 days for appeals. Under the proposal, elections must be held no later than 185 days before a governor’s swearing-in to allow time for all cases to be concluded.
Currently, governorship election disputes can proceed from the Election Tribunal to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court. National and State Assembly disputes end at the Court of Appeal.
Balogun said the change would require INEC to conduct elections earlier, enabling all post-election matters to be settled before the expiration of incumbents’ terms. If passed, the bill will amend the 1999 Constitution and transfer the detailed timelines to the Electoral Act.
