- Safiu Kehinde
The Anambra State Government has been dragged to court by 56 serving councillors challenging the constitutional validity of the two -year tenure of Local Government officials.
In a suit marked A/261/2026 and filed before the state High Court in Awka, the councillors made the Attorney General of the state, state House of Assembly and the State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) as first, second and third defendants, respectively.
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare that the system of local government guaranteed under Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, envisaged a secure, stable and reasonable tenure capable of promoting effective grassroots governance.
They contended that the provision did not permit the arbitrary truncation of the tenure of elected local government officials by state actors.
The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that Section 110(A) of the Anambra State Electoral (Amendment No. 3) Law, 2024 is unconstitutional, null and void.
They said the section, which limited the tenure of elected Local Government Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and Ward Councillors to two years, was inconsistent with Section 7(1) of the Constitution.
The plaintiffs further prayed the court to strike down and expunge Section 110(A) from the laws of Anambra State, contending that it was inconsistent with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
In the same vein, the councillors sought an order, declaring that all democratically elected local government officials are entitled to a uniform tenure of four years in line with the tenure of elected officials at the federal and state levels.
They also asked the court to grant perpetual injunctions restraining the defendants from dissolving or interfering with their tenure after two years.
They urged the court to restrain ANSIEC from conducting any election to replace them until the expiration of what they described as their full four-year tenure.
According to reports, the suit was filed barely one month before the scheduled local government election in the state on August 29.
The Anambra House of Assembly had earlier passed the Anambra State Electoral (Amendment No. 3) Law, 2024, fixing the tenure of elected Local Government Chairmen, Deputy Chairmen and Councillors at two years.