The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday released a timetable for staggered governorship elections in six states -Sokoto, Bayelsa, Edo, Adamawa, Cross River and Kogi.
The INEC commissioner in charge of Information and Publicity, Prince Solomon Soyebi, told journalists at a media briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja that elections in Kogi, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Sokoto, Cross River and Edo states would be conducted in 2012. For Ondo and Ekiti states, governorship elections would hold in 2013 while Anambra and Osun would have theirs in 2014.
According to Soyebi, governorship elections were conducted during the 2011 general elections in all states of the federation except in the following states: Adamawa, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Osun and Sokoto.
Soyebi reeled out the dates the tenures of the affected governors would expire: Kogi, April 4, 2012; Adamawa, April 30, 2012; Bayelsa and Sokoto, May 27 and 28, 2012 respectively; Cross River, August 27, 2012, and Edo, November 12, 2012.
Also, in the timetable for the collection and submissions of forms by political parties, signed by the INEC secretary, Abdullahi Kaugama, the governorship run-off elections (if any) will be held within seven days after the announcement of the result of the election.