BY OKEY NDIRIBE
ABUJA — The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has released time table for the conduct of gubernatorial elections in six states of the federation beginning with Kogi next December.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Commission’s   Publicity Committee, Prince Solomon Soyebi, while briefing journalists at the headquarters of INEC in Abuja, yesterday.

He said the first of the six governorship polls that would be conducted between now and 2012 would take place in Kogi State on December 3, 2011. The affected states are Kogi, Adamawa,  Bayelsa, Sokoto, Cross Rivers and Edo.

Citing section 180 (2) of the Constitution as the source of  INEC’s  power to conduct elections in the affected states,  Soyebi said: “By the provision of section 180 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria  1999 ( as amended), the Governor of a state shall vacate office at the expiration of four years from the date when he took oath of allegiance and oath of office.”

He further cited section 178 (2) of the Constitution which provides that “An election to the office of a Governor of a State shall be held on a date not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of  the term of office of the last holder of the office.”

Throwing light on the time table, he said other governorship polls would be conducted in the rest of the affected  states in the following order: Bayelsa State, January 11, 2012;  Adamawa State, Janauary 14, 2012; Sokoto State,  March 10, 2012; Cross River and Edo States, July 14, 2012.