BREAKING NEWS: Senate has Rejected Buhari’s Request to Amend Electoral Act.

President Muhaimmadu Buhar’s request to amend the Electoral Act of 2022 was rejected by the Senate on Wednesday.

During its second reading, the proposed law, “A bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act 2022,” was overwhelmingly rejected.

Before a voice vote on the bill, which had a majority of nays, several lawmakers spoke out against amending the Act and urged the Senate to follow a court ruling that barred the National Assembly from changing the electoral law.

In a letter to the National Assembly last week, President Buhari requested that the Act be amended by deleting Section 84 (12), which he claims is a “defect” that is in conflict with existing constitutional provisions.

Before running in primary elections, political appointees were required to resign their positions.

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President Buhari, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and the Senate President were all barred from tampering with the Act by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday.

In a ruling on an ex-parte application by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the judge, Inyang Ekwo, said the Electoral Act had become a valid law that could not be amended without going through the proper channels.

The court specifically barred President Buhari, the AGF, the National Assembly, and other defendants in the case from repealing or preventing the implementation of section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act for the 2023 general elections.

On Tuesday, however, Senate President Ahmad Lawan stated that the court’s decision would not prevent the National Assembly from amending the Electoral Act 2022.

He claimed that the court’s decision violated the separation of powers provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).