The sudden ouster of five state governors over tenure elongation challenge created new political drama in affected states of Kogi, Adamawa, Cross River, Sokoto and Bayelsa.

Overnight, new forces emerged capable of complicating the political fortunes of some politicians while advancing those of others. The judgment already raises many questions than it answered.

As a lot of official political activities had occurred from May 2011 to date, the ruling created political loopholes and complications which are already manifesting across the affected states.

So many questions are unanswered. Is the earlier decision of the court that nullified the elections and ordered for re-elections still a valid decision?  Were the elections conducted after the nullification legal?

Were the swearing in ceremonies by the states’ chief judges legal? Where election had been conducted before the judgement, what is the fate of the elected? Where political parties had conducted primaries, are the elected candidates still valid standard bearers for election to be conducted under the new ruling?

The issue of party flag bearers was not settled by the declaration of the PDP that it has no intention of changing its candidates. Until the electoral commission takes a stand on the subject, party position may have to wait for the official programme of the election to be released by the electoral body.

The complication was also not cleared even with the directive from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation that speakers of the states’ Houses of Assembly should be sworn-in as acting governors.

Interestingly, that disputation reared its ugly head in Kogi, the home state of the justice minister himself, where, prior to the ruling, a governor had been elected. An elected governor under the old order was sworn-in by a president of customary court.

The ruling is creating ripples across the states. As Kogi is the most complicated, it will be interesting to decipher the complicated politics of the state now getting more crisis-ridden.

The first poser is why the rush for swearing-in, especially when the acting governor is also a member of the ruling party? Here, the politics of PDP primaries and its consequent sharp division played prominent roles in the event of the last 40 hours.

The internal crisis within the PDP, occasioned by the infighting over its governorship tickets may not be unconnected with the arranged swearing-in. The House speaker, who is now the acting governor, may not have been fully trusted by the out-gone governor as a consequence of previous internal power struggles.

Observers of Kogi politics also reasoned that the event may be a consequence of a shock syndrome occasioned by the interpreted far-reaching implications of the ruling.

One quick point made is a growing report of previous cold relationship between the House speaker, now acting governor, and Senator Liyel Imoke.The former governor was alleged to have attempted the impeachment of the speaker, Honourable Larry Odey, in anticipation of the court ruling, a plot that reportedly failed. Now, the power of incumbency is in the hands of the speaker who incidentally is from Cross River North, a zone that has been clamoring for power shift for long.

Within hours of the ruling, voices were rising in the state for the North to challenge Imoke, especially as the PDP may be forced to conduct fresh primaries. The North senatorial district now sees the exit of Imoke as an opportunity for the power equation in the state to be redefined.

For Adamawa State, the judgment dealt a fatal blow to the struggling campaign of the former governor, Murtala Nyako. Challenged by Buba Marwa, the former governor has been having a running battle warding off the challenge from the former ambassador.

Sincere observers of Adamawa politics had of recent been reporting a growing threat to the PDP from combined forces of CPC and ACN. At a point, the PDP had to launch a propaganda war, accusing the CPC of plans to rig the election.

The matter reached a head when few months ago, there was a dramatic impeachment of the House speaker without the knowledge of the governor.

That truly rattled the PDP establishment in the state as the development was considered a plot against the governor ahead of the election. It took weeks before the tension calmed down even as the lawmakers had their way with the new speaker in office till date.

Supporters of Marwa were all joy since the ruling as they believe the election will be different with Nyako out of Government House. A Marwa supporter, Sunday Oruerakpo Agbo, issued this statement soon after the judgment:

“Following the Supreme Court judgment, our faith in the country’s legal system has been reaffirmed. Adamawa people, there will surely be a light at the end of the tunnel. The signs are there for all to see. This is not Marwa’s victory, it’s victory for all.”