Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State, Alhaji Aminu Yakubu-Ladan, has instituted a legal action against the Niger State Government, challenging the purported reduction of the constitutionally guaranteed tenure of local government chairmen and councillors.
In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, Yakubu-Ladan is seeking a restraining order against the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) and four other parties from proceeding with the conduct of the forthcoming local government elections, slated for 1 November, until the expiration of the current tenure.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1370/2025, dated 10 July and filed on 11 July through his counsel, Chris Udeoyibo, lists the Attorney-General of Niger State, the State House of Assembly, NSIEC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Inspector-General of Police as 1st to 5th defendants.
The plaintiff is contesting the legality of the Niger State Local Government Law, 2001 (as amended), which reduced the tenure of LG officials from four years to three. He argues that this provision is in direct conflict with Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and relevant sections of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In his originating summons, Yakubu-Ladan raised eight critical questions for determination by the court, including whether the state has the constitutional authority to amend tenure provisions that are already established by federal law.
He is seeking a declaration that a four-year tenure for elected local government officials is constitutionally protected, and that Section 29(2) of the Niger State Local Government Law should be declared null and void for its inconsistency with the supreme law of the land.
Additionally, he is praying the court to bar NSIEC from proceeding with election preparations and to restrain INEC and the IGP from providing logistical and security support for the proposed elections until the subsisting tenure lapses.
As of press time, the matter is yet to be assigned to a judge.
