By Our Reporter
A senior Nigerian legal practitioner, Yusuf Shehu Usman, has clarified that resignation from a political party becomes effective from the moment a notice of resignation is submitted, not when it is publicly announced or acknowledged by the party.
Usman, a former Secretary of the Nigerian Law School and ex-Commissioner of Justice in Nasarawa State, explained in his verified Facebook handle, that the question of party membership is strictly a matter of law and must be interpreted based on existing legal provisions governing political associations.
According to him, not every political maneuver raises issues of disqualification from contesting elections, particularly when it concerns party membership. He stressed that the law clearly defines how and when an individual can be regarded as a member of a political party, as well as the conditions under which such membership ceases.
“There is a clear distinction between the effective date of resignation and the public notification of that resignation,” Usman said.
He argued that once a political party is formally served with a notice of resignation, the individual is deemed to have exited the party as of the date indicated in the notice. He added that no known party constitution requires approval before a resignation can take legal effect.
“The law does not impose any obligation on a political party to approve a member’s resignation before it becomes valid,” he noted. “Membership is voluntary, and so is withdrawal.”
Usman further emphasized that delays in publicly declaring resignation do not invalidate the act, as long as the notice has been duly submitted and recorded by the party.
“It does not matter, strictly in law, if it takes years before the individual makes a public declaration. What is critical is that the resignation is documented within the party’s records,” he said.
The legal expert, a graduate of Ahmadu Bello University with nearly five decades of experience in legal practice, concluded that voluntary resignation from a political party should not ordinarily give rise to complex legal disputes.