A Plateau State High Court in Jos has ruled that elected Local Government Chairmen in the state are to serve a four-year term instead of the previously mandated two years. This decision came about on the grounds that the two-year duration prescribed by both Plateau State and the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) laws conflicts with Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In the judgment delivered on Friday by the Chief Judge of Plateau State, Hon. Justice David Mann, he emphasized that the two-year term is inconsistent with constitutional provisions that support a democratically elected local government framework.
The court ordered that the laws stipulating a two-year tenure be invalidated.
This ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by Anani Hamisu Mohammed, the state ALGON chairman and chairman of Wase Local Government Area, who contested the legality of Section 23(1) of the PLASIEC Law and Section 38 of the Plateau State Local Government Law, both of which set a two-year term for elected council chairmen.
Mohammed articulated that these statutes were at odds with key sections of the Electoral Act and the Constitution that mandate a constitutionally structured local government system.
The court concluded that the shortened term jeopardizes the constitutional framework for local government administration, making it untenable.
As a result of this judgment, the court has reinstated a four-year term for elected local government chairmen in accordance with the constitutionally required standards for democratic governance at the grassroots level.
This ruling arrives in anticipation of the upcoming local government elections planned by PLASIEC for September 2026.
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