Abuja, Nigeria - Nigeria's apex Supreme Court on Friday sacked the Governors of five states whose tenure was to have expired last year but stayed on based on a lower court ruling. A seven-member Supreme Court panel that sat in the capital city of Abuja overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the decision of an Abuja Federal High Court that extended the tenure of the five governors beyond 29 May, 2011.

The affected governors are Ibrahim Idris (Northern state of Kogi), Murtala Nyako (northern state of Adamawa), Timipre Sylva (southern state of Bayelsa), Aliyu Wamakko (northern state of Sokoto) and Liyel Imoke (southern state of Cross River), all members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The judgment follows an appeal by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) governorship candidate in Adamawa State, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Governorship elections were held in most of the other 31 states in the country last year.

Pana 27/01/2012