by crossriverwatch admin
Contrary to rumours making rounds that the Cross River State Governorship election will be conducted in 2016, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in the state has said that the election will hold during the 2015 general election.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar on the 14th of July, 2008 removed Liyel Imoke as Cross River State Governor after ruling that his election in 2007 failed to comply with the 2006 Electoral Act.
Following the verdict, the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Francis Adah, was sworn in as acting governor for the three months within which the court ordered that a fresh election be held.
Imoke’s ouster resulted from an appeal by four opposition parties – the All Nigeria people party (ANPP), the African Renaissance Party (ARP), the Action Congress (AC), and the People Progressive Alliance (PPA) – challenging the verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal on January 23, 2008 upholding Imoke as duly elected.
But Justice Suleiman Galadima of the Appeal Court ruled that the April 14, 2007 governorship election was invalid, based on the conduct and results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Court held that the petitioners proved that votes were unilaterally awarded to Imoke in a manner that could be described as anything but free and fair.
A rerun election was conducted that returned Imoke as governor on August 23, 2008.
Since then, several political watchers have continued to argue that Imoke’s first tenure began the day he was sworn in after the re-run and not on May 29, 2007 therefore his second term will end by 2016 and not 2015.
But in a statement signed by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner titled “Tenure of Office and Date of Governorship Election in Cross River State” and made available to CrossRiverWatch, the electoral umpire says “The INEC at its meeting held at Abuja on Thursday 15th August, 2013 deliberated on the above subject matter and approved that…
“Governorship Election in Cross River State will be conducted during the 2015 General Elections in line with the judgment of the Supreme Court on Tenure of Office of the Governor of the State.”
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