FIVE GOVERNORS GET THE 'BOOT' ORDER

SUPREME COURT 'INTERPRETES' THE 1999 CONSTITUTION. 

'Its a firing season'  

FIVE STATE GOVERNORS KICKED OUT OVER TENURE ELONGATION

The Supreme Court, today (Friday, 27th January, 2012), sacked five governors of Bayelsa, Adamawa, Sokoto, C/River, Kogi state from their respective office.

In a unanimous decision, a 7-man panel of justices of the apex court, maintained that the affected governors exceeded the 4-years tenure that was specifically stipulated in section 180(2) of the 1999 constitution.

Consequently, it made an order setting aside the two lower courts judgments that ab-initio elongated the tenure of the governors till this year.

The affected governors are Timipre Sylva(Bayelsa,) Magatakada Wamakko (Sokoto), Liyel Imoke(C/River),  Ibrahim Idris(Kogi) and Murtala Nyako ( Adamawa).

The section reads:
180 (2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the Governor shall vacate his office at the expiration of period of four years commencing from the date when -
(a) in the case of a person first elected as Governor under this Constitution, he took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office; and
(b) the person last elected to that office took the Oath of Allegiance and oath of office or would, but for his death, have taken such oaths.

The court held that the provisions of that section of the Constitution will stand violated if the tenure of office of the Governors is calculated from their second taking of Oath of Office and the Oath of Allegiance and stated that their tenure started counting from their first Oath of office which they all took after they were declared winners of the April 2007 elections and that they are entitled to four year terms from that date.

The court also rapped the Peoples Democratic party for attempting to abort the hearing of the matter at the court through their preliminary objections filed against all the consolidated appeals. The party had argued that the subject matter of the appeals have become academic and should be dismissed.

The Speakers of the state Houses of Assembly take over as governors in acting capacity.