The Plateau State High Court has ruled in favour of local government chairmen in the state, granting their request for a four-year tenure.
The court also struck down the existing two-year tenure provided under the state’s laws.
The 17 local council chairmen had taken the state government and the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) to court, seeking to extend their tenure from two years to four years. They argued that the shorter tenure violates provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999).
In a landmark judgment delivered on Friday, the Chief Judge of Plateau State, Justice David Gwong Mannin, ruled that the two-year tenure contained in the state’s laws and adopted by PLASIEC is inconsistent with Section 7(1) of the Constitution.
The court further held that the two-year tenure granted to council chairmen contradicts constitutional provisions that guarantee a democratically elected local government system.
While delivering the ruling, Justice Mannin stated that the two-year tenure conflicts with sections of the Nigerian Constitution that protect a democratic local government structure. He noted that such a short tenure weakens the constitutional framework for local government administration and therefore cannot stand.
The judge also declared that granting the elected local government chairmen a four-year tenure aligns their position with broader constitutional expectations for democratic governance at the grassroots level.
