An Enugu based lawyer, Ben Oloko, has asked the court to restrain the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC) and state government from proceeding with the conduct of local council election billed for September 26, 2026 in the state.
Oloko, in a suit he filed at the Enugu State High Court, insisted that the tenure of the 17 local council chairmen elected in September 2024 was still active and should expire in 2028, against the two years currently being peddled as basis for another election, reports Saturday Guardian.
Maintaining the proposed election was “premature” and “unconstitutional”, he stated that the tenure of local council officials across the federation was four years, regardless of any law to the contrary by the state.
He, therefore, urged the court to uphold this position and nullify the relevant provisions of the Enugu State Local Council Law prescribing tenure of two years.
He stated that the Local Government Law of Enugu State 2000 as well as section 2 of the Enugu State Local Government Law (Amendment No. 5) Law No. 6, 2004 which prescribe a two year term for elected officials of the current council officials is inconsistent with section 108 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and paragraph 11, Part II, Second Schedule to the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
Dragged to court alongside ENSIEC is the State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and African Democratic Party (ADP) as well as the 17 local council chairmen of the state.
He specifically asked the court to, “Whether from the construction of the clear provisions of Paragraph 11, Part II of the Second Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and sections 108(1); 150(1), (2),(3) and (4); and 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022; the tenure of democratically elected Local Government Councils in Nigeria is constitutionally fixed at four years.
“Whether the Enugu State House of Assembly or any State House of Assembly at all in the federation has the legislative competence to abridge the tenure of local councils.
“Whether the proposed Enugu State Local Council Elections slated for the 26th day of September, 2026 are constitutional”. A date is yet to be fixed for the hearing on the suit.
