 And as political appointees and others begin to resign from their current status to contest the 2023 general elections, all eyes are on how the offices will be run in a short term. A legal practitioner, liberal social and a political analyst, Olufemi Loosin, are advocating that those in charge of checks and balances adopt structures to ensure that there are no gaps. Our political correspondent, Jacinta Obuiko, takes a look at these issues. There have been contentious positions as regards the constitutionality of Section 84-12 of the Electoral Act 2022. In fact, President Mohamed Bwari protested the constitutionality of the controversial provision of the newly assented electoral law. Others have argued that the section of the constitution is able to disenfranchise people from vying for electoral offices. A legal practitioner, liberal social man countered this. It doesn't disenfranchise anybody because the provision of the constitution actually limits participation for civil servants. That if you're in the employment of the government of the Federation or of the states, that you cannot contest for an election except you resigned one month before the election. And the Court of Appeal had heard that political appointees are not employed in the government of the Federation or of the state for the purpose of that section. And so what that means is that if you're a political appointee, you can remain in office till even contest for election wise in that other office. A political analyst Ulufemi Lawson shared the same view. He insisted that the section of the law would limit the excesses of the political class. I would want to say that morally, I don't think we even need the law to this extent to tell you that, come, you have an ambition to pursue in Jigawa state. Then why are you sitting in Abuja as a minister? If truly you are a very serious candidate. One of those vying for the highest seat in government is the Vice President, Professor Yemio Shimbajo. There are questions about how his latest ambition could cause divided attention in carrying out his current duties as the nation's second in command. The VP's attention certainly would be divided. Just the same way, a sitting president who is vying for a reelection's attention would be divided. So and the question is what we should do is to ensure that there is proper monitoring, not just a divided attention, to ensure that the job and the functions of that office is properly carried out. The truth is that pursuing a political ambition is a natural distraction. Politicians will continue to aspire for higher positions. Politicians will continue to even demand for what they do not deserve. But it is the duty of you and I to say, no, you don't deserve it. So those who have had competent ministers as deputies should hand over to them, brief them. Those who have not had should use the next few days to get them carried along so that the duties of state will not suffer. Ainek has given political parties between April 4 and June 3, 2022 to conduct primaries. This means that public office holders seeking to be elected must resign before June 3 when Ainek expects that all issues on party primaries must have been resolved. Meanwhile, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustafa, ought to have issued a secular stating a deadline on when they should resign. But he has not, as President Buhari has not given directives to do so. Nigerians are watching to see how this pans out. Jacinta Ubuco close the news. Now joining us to discuss this seeming controversy is Malaki Ogoma, who is the immediate past National President of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights. Thanks for joining us on the news. Are you there? Through law, others have argued. Thank you for being here. Opportunity could have been yours. Thank you. Thank you for coming. Now, a political parties constitution or guidelines for its members should not be confused with or subordinated to the Nigerian Constitution, both valid, parallel and independent. What can you say about this? Again, I can barely hear you. I imagine that your question has everything to do with the hierarchy of our laws, whether the rules or provisions of regulations of political parties can supersede and override the provisions of the Constitution. That is rhetorical. It is given that the Constitution itself is supreme. The Supremacy is asserted in Section 1, Subsection 1 of the same Constitution that proclaims itself supreme over every other law. In fact, it goes ahead under Subsection 3 of Section 1 to insist that even any other law, whether subsidiary or secondary law, as the case may be, runs in conflict or at variance with the provisions of the Constitution. Such other law to the extent of that inconsistency shall be known and found. I imagine that this is where the controversies have arisen in relation to the provisions of the Electoral Act that has generated sufficient controversy regarding Section 84, Section 12 of the Electoral Act of the year 2020. It is unclear that where political parties, which are very serious political institutions, vehicles through which democracies midwifed and sustained are to take steps that most do that in full recognition and cognizance of the express provisions of the ground law, which is the Constitution, where it undermines that precautionary position. It oppresses at least on purpose and at least on risk. That will be my take if I understood your question very well. Okay, well that's well said. What does this Constitution now say about this issue of resignation before contestant? Well, the Constitution as at this moment and as amended is to the effect that where any Nigerian who is in the public service of the Federation either at the federal level or at the sub-national level, that is the States, desires legitimately, which is a right that endures to all of us to context or participate in an election. Such a person must resign, withdraw from that service at least 30 days before the third election. The constitutional provisions are clear from Section 66 of Section F, Section 1071, Substitution F and so on and so forth. So the Constitution is interested in public servants in the public service of the Federation and the States as the case may be. But what has introduced a rather controversial dimension to this Constitution is the amendment in 2022 where Section 84 of Section 12 of the letter was promulgated and signed into that provision is to the effect that political office holders, if you like, political appointees are precluded from participating in primaries of their political parties if they do not resign a month before that or those primaries. That is a controversial. So luckily, and this is where the judiciary intervenes in the in the interplay of political powers in the country to interpret, and that is the case that came up at I think Omar here, where that provision of the Electoral Act was struck down. However, and I'm certain that you should be aware the Court of Appeal before whom the appellants who lost the matter at the lower court ran to took a preliminary position granting the application for state of the execution of the of the order of the lower court. So as of today, Section 84 of Section 12 to all intents and purposes is still the extant law. In other words, political appointees, political office holders who desire to contest in political party primaries are obligated to resign from those offices 30 days before they set their primaries. So that's the position at the moment. You see this as a factor, you know, you are the interviewer's delight any day, any time, because I was quite having a good time listening to you. So do you see this as a factor capable of discouraging those who have future considerations for public office appointments? Well, let us let us even put this issue in some context and see whether we make some serious meaning regarding the whole business of national beauty. You see, it is not just about it is not just the law however important and crucial it is that regulates human conduct, human behavior, and national beauty. It's not only the law. The law is very, very important, no doubt about that. You see, in the business of national beauty, a nation will or a people should be able to build a consensus around where they want to be and where they have to go. We have seen over time, no less in this dispensation, that quite a number of interplay of forces and factors conspire in a very bully manner to jeopardize the sort of progress that we ought to make in our efforts towards participatory democracy. What I mean by that is that they seem to be in the configuration of our setting, a pattern that makes participation somewhat difficult, essentially because level playing grants are not great. So the legislature has seen that situation. The legislature has apprehended that situation and the legislature had invoked their powers and intervened through legislative engineering by creating this section 84, sub-session 12. Indeed, what they seek to achieve is that members of the executive and government who mysteriously manipulate and appropriate the retinue of political appointees in their favor creates a very unstable playing field because what it does is that most of these political appointees in the respective political parties operate as automatic delegates to that Congress. That in the view of the legislators already undermine their own participation in the game. So the way to strike a balance is to introduce this law but in doing that they have almost overreached themselves because like you have had, the courts are already kicking because right in the same constitution away from the section that talks about the supremacy of the Constitution. Section 42, section 42 frowns at any form of discrimination. So if for any reason you are promulgating a law that tends to disenfranchise me by raising of my political status or creed or sex or tendency that is already discriminatory. So where do we go from here? It is that both the legislature and the executives should realize beyond admonition, exhortation that the country itself must survive first before their private individual ambition overrides the business of nation beauty. My proposal of the country first, the survival of the country first. Great because if there is no country you cannot have the forum or the forum to participate. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your submissions on the Prime Minister's news tonight. We had a good time talking to you. Hopefully we'll be able to join us in coming days again to look at issues as they develop around politics, politicking and 2023 elections. Thank you very much. Thank you for the service you're rendering to my nation. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity. Please do subscribe to our YouTube channel and don't forget to hit the notification button so you get notified about fresh news updates.