Tenure of 5 govs: S’Court begins hearing on INEC’s appeal today

Vanguard

13 October 2011

Tenure of 5 govs: S’Court begins hearing on INEC’s appeal today

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ABUJA—A five-man panel of justices of the Supreme Court will today commence hearing on an appeal that was lodged by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, seeking an immediate removal of five sitting governors from office.

The electoral body went to the apex court with a view to getting a superior order, nullifying decisions of a Federal High Court and the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which had in their separate judgments, barred INEC from conducting elections in the five states till next year.

It is praying the court to hold that the tenure of Governors Ibrahim Idris of Kogi State, Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), ought to have expired on May 29 this year.

It would be recalled that the lower courts had in their separate judgments, relied on the provisions of section 180(2) of the 1999 constitution, to insist that it would be unconstitutional for INEC to compel the aforementioned governors to vacate their respective offices before the expiration of their statutory four-year tenure stipulated in the law.