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The case of five governors seeking to extend
their tenures beyond 2011, was yesterday stalled at the Federal High Court in
Abuja after an Adamawa governorship aspirant filed an application seeking to be
joined as a party in the suit.

Micheal Zira asked to be included in the lawsuit
filed by Adamawa governor, Murtala Nyako saying that the outcome of the case
will affect his ambition.

The five incumbent governors, specifically,
Ibrahim Idris of Kogi, Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto, Timiprieye Sylva of Bayelsa,
Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Liyel Imoke of Cross-River, challenged the decision
of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct governorship
polls in their states next year while, according to them, their tenure is still
running. They also asked the court to stop the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
from conducting any primaries for the governorship elections in their states.

The court, presided by Adamu Bello, will decide
on November 9 whether to join Mr. Zira, who is running under the National
Transformation Party (NTP), in the suit.

Without merit

Both the counsel to the governors, Olusola Oke,
and the counsel to INEC, Kanu Godwin Agabi, asked the court not to grant Mr.
Zira’s application because he is not a necessary party in the suit.

Also, Mr. Agabi said Mr. Zira’s application was
defective, as a joinder ought to be a political party and not an individual.
Mr. Oke, who represented the PDP, agreed and recommended that the judge dismiss
the application for lacking in merit.

But in his reply, Godwin Ogboji, counsel to Mr
Zira, said his client sought to be joined as a co-defendant in the suit because
the governors’ action could prevent INEC from conducting free and fair
governorship elections in Adamawa state in 2011 elections. He said the lawsuit
would adversely affect him as a candidate.

Mr. Ogboji told the court that it would be in the interest of justice if the
application were granted, as none of the original parties to the suit would be
adversely affected in any way. He noted that “Mr. Zira has started campaigning
already, opening campaign offices in all the local government areas of the
state, recruiting personnel, procuring campaign vehicles and criss-crossing the
of the state in pursuit of his ambition,” he said “For anybody to suddenly stop
the said poll would be injurious to my party’s interest.”