Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Bauchi State Governor has directed all his political appointees and public servants in the State who are interested in vying for political offices in the forthcoming general elections to resign before Friday, 8th April.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media Mukhtar Gidado on Wednesday, Governor Bala said the directive is in compliance with the electoral Act 2022.
“This directive is in compliance with the electoral Act 2022 which provides that, political appointees and other public servants aspiring for political offices in the 2023 General Elections are to resign their appointments 30 days before the conduct of Primary elections in respect of the specific posts they are aspiring for.
The statement also noted that the directive is contained in a circular issued by the office of the Secretary to the Bauchi State Government.
It further read “It also directed Honourable Commissioners wishing to contest to hand over their offices to the Permanent Secretaries of their respective ministries, while other political office holders should accordingly hand over Government property in their possessions to the Permanent Secretary, General Services, Office of the Head of Civil Service, Bauchi”.
WikkiTimes recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had while signing the amended Electoral Act urged the National Assembly to delete section 84(12) of the newly amended Act which mandated political appointees to resign 30 days before primary elections if vying for any political position, stating that it violated Constitution and breached the rights of the appointees.
The President further wrote a letter to both chambers of the National Assembly seeking amendment by way of deleting the which the Senate rejected in plenary.
However, in March, the Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, held that the section was unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, null, void and of no effect whatsoever and ought to be struck down as it cannot stand when it is in violation of the clear provisions of the constitution.
