Judges'conference stalls hearing on tenure elongation

Hearing in the appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) challenging the decision of a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal which elongated the tenure of five governors could not come up on Monday as listed by the Supreme Court due to the opening ceremony of the All Nigeria Judges' Conference holding in Abuja.A source close to the apex court told the Nigerian Tribune that the matter may likely come up on November 28.The apex court had earlier invited the trio of Chief Richard Akinjide, Professor Itse Sagay and Chief G.O.K Ajayi, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria to address it on the matter.The beneficiaries of the tenure elongation are Ibrahim Idris (Kogi), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa), Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto) and Liyel Imoke (Cross River).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 election.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, 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.
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