By Dayo Johnson

Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Niyi Adegbonmire, yesterday, declared that the National Assembly will not pass a law to stop off-cycle elections in Nigeria.

Adegbomire declared that off-cycle elections must continue to happen in Nigeria, to allow the votes of the people to count.

Speaking during a media parley in Akure, Ondo State, the Senator, who represents Ondo Central, said: “Any society where leadership is installed by means other than holding the mandate of the people is on its way to perdition.

“In a democracy, legitimacy is conferred through the electoral process and it is the candidate who garners the highest number of votes in an election who wins.

“Based on an interpretation of Nigeria’s law, the National Assembly won’t pass a law to stop off-season elections in Nigeria.

“It is a constitutional matter and the Supreme Court has been clear about it. The constitution says you shall be sworn in for a term of four years. That four years start from the day you were sworn in as a governor.

“The Electoral Act says you must have 2/3 local governments majority votes but the constitution doesn’t stipulate that. So, there is a criterion for winning elections and there is another criterion as to tenure. The tenure is in the constitution.”