G60 lawmakers hail ruling voiding Rivers State LGA chairmen’s tenure extension

Opposition federal lawmakers in the House of Representatives, known as the G60, have welcomed the court judgement voiding the tenure extension for local government chairmen in Rivers State. On Tuesday, a High Court in Port Harcourt declared the Local Government Law No. 2 of 2024, which extended the tenure of local government chairmen by six months after the expiration of their tenure, invalid.

The 27 lawmakers aligned with the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had earlier this year enacted a law extending the three-year tenure of the serving LGA chairmen by three months amidst the political crisis. However, the court, in its decision, held that the new law was inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and Section 9(1) of Rivers State Law No. 5 of 2018, which fixed a three-year term for local government chairmen and councillors.

In the ruling of suit number PHC/1320/CS/2024, filed by Hon. Enyiada Cookey-Gam & 6 Ors vs. The Governor of Rivers State & Ors, Hon. Justice D.G. Kio declared that Local Government Law No. 2 of 2024, seeking to extend the chairmen’s terms by six months, conflicted with both the 1999 Constitution and the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018. The court affirmed that the lawful tenure for local government chairmen and councillors remained three years as stipulated by the 2018 law, stressing that any attempt to extend the tenure was not only unlawful but also violated the officials’ oath of office.

Reacting to the court judgement, Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, spokesperson for the lawmakers, described it as a victory for democracy and a stand against legislative impersonation. He called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately conduct bye-elections to replace lawmakers who had defected from the PDP to the APC, in breach of the provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Ugochinyere said: “As we mentioned a few weeks ago, the plan for the tenure elongation of the Rivers State Local Government Chairmen is ‘legislative rascality and a coup against democracy that is dead on arrival.’ Illegally extending the tenure of Local Government Chairmen just a few weeks before the expiration of their term is an abuse of the legislative process that cannot be enforced. It is the height of legislative rascality and a coup against democracy that is dead on arrival.

“These Rivers Assembly members acted like individuals who do not hold the sacred mandate of the people. However, we commend the judiciary for saving democracy. We call on the Chairman of INEC to immediately conduct bye-elections to replace the lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the APC in violation of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”