Supreme Court hears suit on tenure elongation today

Posted by admin Judiciary, Latest Politics Monday, November 21st, 2011

The Supreme Court will this morning hear the appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal which upheld the decision of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja which had earlier elongated the tenure of five governors.

The apex court had invited the trio of Chief Richard Akinjide, Professor Itse Sagay and Chief G.O.K Ajayi, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) to address it on the matter.

The Supreme Court had invited the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN), alongside Akinjide and Sagay as amicus curie to come to the court to advice on the matter but barely a week after the invitation was extended to the trio, the Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, objected to the choice of Adoke as amicus curie on the ground that the AGF was a party in the tenure elongation matter.

Reacting to this development, the AGF wrote to the Supreme Court rejecting his invitation, saying he was a party in the matter.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Dahiru Musdapher, on receipt of the letter, replaced the AGF with one-time lawyer to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola during the June 12 saga, Chief G.K.O.Ajayi.

INEC is challenging the decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division which upheld the decision of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja extending the tenure of five governors beyond May 29, this year.

The beneficiaries of the tenure elongation are Ibrahim Idris (Kogi State), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa State), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa State), Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto State) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River State).

Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court had in his consolidated judgment, ruled that the tenure of the governors started in 2008 when they took a fresh Oath of Allegiance and Oath of Office after their victories in the rerun elections conducted by INEC.

The re-run elections were conducted by INEC after the Appeal Courts nullified their victories in the April 14, 2007 general elections.

The Judge held that since the 2007 elections were nullified and set aside by competent courts, the oaths of office and allegiance subscribed to by the governors had been nullified.

Following the judgment, which was upheld by a panel of five Justices of the Court of Appeal headed by Justice Muhammad Garuba, governorship elections did not hold in the five states, on April 26 this year.

The INEC subsequently fixed governorship election in Kogi State for April 4, 2012; Adamawa- April 30, 2012; Bayelsa- May 27, 2012; Sokoto- May 28, 2012 and

Cross-River for August 27, 2012.

By the provision of Section 180(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, the Governor of a state shall vacate office at the expiration of four years from the date when he took the oath of allegiance and oath of office.

-Tribunewp_posts