March 22, (THEWILL) — It is a matter of concern that the Plateau State Government would knowingly flaunt a Supreme Court judgement in May 2024, which affirmed that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantees a four-year tenure for local government councils in Nigeria. The government said it would appeal a March 13, 2026 ruling by a High Court in the state, declaring that the two-year tenure prescribed under the Platea State law is inconsistent with Section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It effectively affirms a four-year term for elected council officials as interpreted by the apex court in 2024.
The case, filed by a local government chairman, sought constitutional interpretation on the legality of the shorter tenure, with the court ruling in favour of a longer term in line with constitutional provisions.
Obviously unaware of the Supreme Court judgment, the Commissioner for Information, Joyce Ramnap, said the government was carefully studying the judgment with its legal team to fully understand its implications and will consider all lawful options available, including seeking further appellate judicial clarification where necessary.
Despite stating that the High Court judgement focused on the interpretation of Section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended) as it relates to the tenure of local government officials, Ramnap still went ahead to say it was studying the judgement. There is nothing to study, Commissioner and the appellate interpretation the government is seeking has already been made by the apex court of the land.
There is no doubt that prior to the apex court ruling, the exact tenure for LGAs was as defined by various State Houses of Assembly. The Assemblies had enacted laws in their attempts to fix a shorter tenure from two to three years at a period caretaker committees were very fashionable among governors who wanted to maintain a firm grip on the local governments in their domains until a rash of legal interpretation- most recently the local government autonomy law- stopped these anti- democratic and unconstitutional moves.
The high point of the local government autonomy law in July 2024 is the restoration of the 774 local government council as independent third-tier of government, abolishing of state controlled joint accounts and illegal caretaker committees. Full implementation of the autonomy law is, no doubt, still being checked by politics between the federal and state government. Even so, it has stopped the caretaker committee and returned democratic election of chairmen and councillors to national politics.
In addition, it has shown that the current legal consensus is that the supreme law directs a consistent tenure of four years for local government council chairmen. More importantly, it is now a legal and constitutional matter that the third-tier of government at the local level is a government, just like governments at the centre and the 36 states of the federation. The idea of calling it council is therefore idle.
The chairman and councillors campaign to be voted for and they are elected by the electorate, obtain Certificates of Return and sworn into office with a defined tenure. Monthly allocations are shared monthly by the Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, to the three-tiers of governments monthly.
In spite of these progressive developments to deepen democracy at the grassroots, many state governors keep carrying on as if their words, rather than the constitution, are law. Coming from a government whose governor, Caleb Mutfwang, is known for championing the rights of the people and local government councils, prior to his election, is not only worrisome but a sad commentary on democratic credentials.
