Confusion as court excludes five states from April guber polls

A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja yesterday opened a new chapter in the tenure of state governors when it ruled that five state chief executives, who won rerun elections in 2008, started their administration from the date of their second inauguration.

The verdict was at the instance of the consolidated suits filed by the governors of Adamawa, Bayelsa, Cross River, Kogi, and Sokoto states against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) move to conduct the April governorship elections when they were yet to complete their four-year tenure.

Justice Adamu Bello, who granted the governors’ pleas, stopped INEC from holding the April 2011 governorship polls in the five states, declaring that their tenure started in 2008 and shall end in 2012.

The court further put paid to the ambitions of all the governorship candidates from the various political parties to occupy the Government Houses in the five states, saying there was no vacancy in them.

It held that all actions taken by INEC to conduct governorship polls in the states were no more binding on the political parties and governors.

Consequently, Governors Ibrahim Idris (Kogi), Aliyu Wammakko (Sokoto), Muritala Nyako (Adamawa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa) are to remain in office till 2012 as their re-election took place in 2008.

The court declared that their tenure shall not expire until sometimes next year, adding that INEC could only hold governorship elections in the states 60 days to the end of the affected governors’ tenure.

In a reaction, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said the commission would have to receive the judgment before taking any further action.

But a senior INEC official told The Guardian last night that “we will appeal the verdict up to the Supreme Court.”

Ruling in the consolidated suits filed by the five governors, Bello agreed with counsel to Idris Kogi State, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), that the tenure of the governors legally started in 2008 when they took fresh oath of office and allegiance upon the nullification of their April 14, 2007 elections by the courts.

With this ruling, the party primaries conducted in the five states will be put on hold unless an appellate court voids the verdict.

Justice Adamu held that since the 2007 elections, which brought them to office were nullified by competent courts, the oath of office and allegiance subscribed to by the five governors “stand nullified and set aside.”

The trial judge held that in line with section 180 of the 1999 Constitution, the tenure of the governors legally commenced in 2008 and not in 2007 since the previous elections that brought them into office in the first instance were declared a nullity.

According to Bello, the 2007 elections being relied on by INEC to determine the tenure of the governors no longer exist in the eyes of the law since they have been voided by competent courts of law.

He noted that it is a trite principle of law that “we cannot put something on nothing.”

Although he held that section 180 of the 1999 Constitution was amended in 2010 by the National Assembly and signed into law by the President, the amendment has no effect on the five governors since their re-run elections were conducted in 2008.

The Judge held that “there was nowhere in the world where a constitution takes retroactive effect as erroneously held by the INEC,” adding that “the said amendment cannot be used to determine the tenure of the governors who took oath of office in 2008.”

Consequently, the court quashed the preparations by INEC and PDP to conduct elections in the affected states and ordered that elections would only take place in the states next year.

“INEC cannot validly conduct elections in the five states until 60 days to the expiration of the tenure of the present occupants. The notice of elections, received nominations, quid lines and time table issued by INEC for the April 2011 election are unlawful, illegal and contrary to section 180 of the nation Constitution.”

The plaintiffs had sued INEC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking legal interpretation of their tenure in office, whether it will be extended beyond May 29 this year.

Specifically, they challenged the decision of INEC to conduct governorship elections in their states in April 2011, claiming that their tenure subsists beyond 2011.

Following the nullification of Idris’ election on April 14, 2007 by the Court of Appeal, INEC conducted a re-run governorship election on Saturday March 29, 2008, which he won.

Although there were isolated cases of electoral malpractices and violence, the result was announced in favour of Idris, who polled 518,581 votes to retain his seat.

In Cross River State, the Court of Appeal also quashed the election of Imoke in its July 15, 2008 ruling and ordered a re-run of the election within 90 days. Imoke, who was the PDP candidate, won the re-run held on August 25, 2008.

Similarly, in April 2008, the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State nullified the election of Sylva on account of election irregularities and ordered that the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Werinipre Seibarugu, be sworn in as the Acting Governor.

In the re-run election held on May 24, 2008, INEC announced Sylva as winner.

The commission also declared Wamakko the winner of the repeated governorship polls in Sokoto.

On April 24, 2008, the INEC declared Nyako winner of the re-run election held on April 23.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa State, Dr. Abdul Bulama, who announced the re-run election in Yola, said Nyako scored 361,729 votes to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the Action Congress, Alhaji Ibrahim Bapetel, who got 201,767votes.

Short URL: http://newnigerianpolitics.com/?p=4597

Posted by admin on Feb 24 2011. Filed under Elections 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry