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The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday pleaded with the Federal
High Court in Abuja to allow it to conduct governorship elections in
the five states that the court earlier ruled there will be no election.

Presiding judge,
Adamu Bello in a judgment recently, said governorship elections should
not hold in Kogi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Cross River and Bayelsa states until
next year.

The ruling also set
new dates for the termination of the tenures of the governors. Ibrahim
Idris, Kogi, will stay on till April 5,2012; Aliyu Wammakko, Sokoto,
remains till May 28,2012; Timipre Sylva, Bayelsa, leaves on May 29,
2012; Liyel Imoke’s tenure in Cross River terminates on August 28,
2012; and Murtala Nyako, Adamawa, gets his tenure elongated to April
30th, 2012.

The five governors
had gone to court to challenge the decision of the Commission to
conduct governorship elections in their states this year. They said
their tenure only began after they won the run off in their states and
so should not be terminated in April 2011. They named INEC and the
Peoples Democratic Party as first and second defendants respectively.

But INEC yesterday asked the Court to stop the execution of its judgment.

In a motion for
stay filed by its lawyer, Carol Ajie, INEC asked the court to stop the
governors from enjoying the judgment until the Appeal Court has decided
the appeal filed by the commission against the High Court judgment.

“But if this
application is granted by this court, the Appellant would perform its
statutory duties of conducting elections in the affected states as well
others and the opportunity of a level playing ground afforded to other
candidates.,” he said.

Ms Ajie told the
court that if the application was refused, any decision arrived at by
the Court of Appeal would have been rendered nugatory by the ruling
that extended the tenure of the five governors.

In a
seven-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Kennedy Ajogi, a Litigation
Clerk in Ajie Chambers, the lawyer said an appeal had already been
filed against the judgment and that the appeal raised substantial
issues of law which might be resolved in favour of the appellant (INEC).

Specifically, Ms
Ajie said a greater hardship would be caused if the application was
refused and that the governors would lose nothing. She said INEC would
find itself in an awkward position if the appeal was decided in its
favour since the time for holding election in the affected states would
have passed before the appeal would be decided.

She also asked the
court to take notice of the fact that some of the elections were
nullified on account of malpractices and irregularities and that to
allow the governors to stay beyond May 29, would make them benefit from
their wrongs.

“There are special
and exceptional reasons why suspension of the judgment ought to be
granted in this case,” she told the court.

“The Appellant/Applicant is a statutory body charged with the
responsibility of regulating, scheduling and conducting elections into
the offices occupied by the Respondents amongst others and should not
be stopped from doing its statutory work.”