Politics
LG Chairmen, Councilors To Enjoy Four-Year Tenure — Supreme Court
Council Chairmen, Councilors to enjoy four-year tenure-Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in a landslide judgement on local government autonomy, ordered that the four-year tenure enjoyed by executives be extended to the offices of all local government chairmen across the country.
This is contained in the Certified True Copy (CTC) of a judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Garba and six others on May 11, 2024.
Garba said that some states have, by their various illegal actions, starved the local government councils in their states to the extent that most of them cannot exercise their constitutional powers or perform their statutory functions.
The Justice described the situation of the LGA in the country as “one tier of government’s inhumanity to another tier of government.”
Garbage said that LGAs in Nigeria, unlike branches of incorporated bodies or entities, are constitutionally the third tier of government in the Federation.
According to him, their political and financial independence is duly guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
The Justice said that Section 2(2) of the Constitution provides that “Nigeria shall be a Federation consisting of States and a Federal Capital Territory.”.
He further stated that 36 states in the country are specified, in alphabetical order, by Section 3(1) of the Constitution.
He said that Section 3(6) of the Constitution provides that “there shall be 768 local government areas in Nigeria,“ while Section 1(2) of the Constitution provides that “Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.”.
The Justice, however, said that in respect of the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, there is template legislation by the National Assembly.
He said that by way of sections 108, 109, 110, and 113 of the Electoral Act (2022), the dissolution (tenure of area councils), the vacation of seats of members, removal of the chairman or vice chairman, recall, etc. were addressed. And elections to the area councils are promptly conducted or held by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“It is, therefore, unfortunate that some states do not even bother about conducting elections into local government councils as required by the relevant laws of their Houses of Assembly.
“Under Section 135(3) of the Constitution, the tenure of four years for the president, provided for by Section 135(2) thereof, shall be extended for periods not exceeding a period of six months at any time by a resolution of the National Assembly if it is not practicable to hold elections.
“By the same token, by a law of a State House of Assembly, the tenure of local government councils can be legally extended for any reason, such as insecurity or war, if it becomes impracticable or impossible for elections into the local government councils to be conducted.
“The mandate given to an elected local government council is the mandate of the electorate of that local government area, and if the tenure is extended, it is the people’s mandate that is extended.
“If the tenure of a local government council is truncated, as it is the norm now, it is an illegal termination of the electorate’s mandate, and it is not to be encouraged but roundly condemned.
“By the doctrine of separation of powers, it is the constitutional duty or function of the Legislature to make laws, which include amendments and repeals, and the duty of the judiciary is to interpret the laws to achieve the intended purpose of the legislation,” he said.
Politics
PDP to screen Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday as its sole Presidential aspirant For 2027 race
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, has scheduled to screen former president Goodluck Jonathan tomorrow, Tuesday, aMay 19, as the lone presidential candidate of party.
According to a statement from the PDP faction backed by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, Former Vice-President Namadi Sambo, former governor of Plateau State, Jona Jang and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tom Ikimi have been listed among a committee of 14 members to screen Jonathan described as a lone candidate by the party.
Other members of the committee were Chief Olabode George, Babangida Aliyu, Maryam ciroma, Zainab Maina, Josephine Anenin, Dr. Abdul Bulama, Dr. Esther Uduehi, Edo State PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, Dr. Sunday Solarium and Chief Anicho Okoro, who would serve as administrative secretary of the committee.
Last week, the national Publicity Secretary of the faction, Ini Ememobong, disclosed that former president Jonathan has successfully registered as a member of the party in the fresh digital registration exercise directed by INEC.
The PDP faction also announced that it was set to screen 748 house of representatives aspirants, 198 senatorial aspirants, and 112 governorship aspirants.
The screening committee would screen 2122 states houses of assembly aspirants. The exercise will commence tomorrow, Tuesday in different states.
According to the statement, the screening exercise would take place nationwide on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
The statement said the Interim National Working Committee (iNWC) has also released the names of members to serve on the Screening Committees and Screening Appeal Panels.
It added that the publication of the screening details “is in accordance with the party’s guidelines and timetable for the conduct of the 2027 general elections.”
Politics
Oshiomhole wins Edo APC senatorial primaries unopposed
A former governor and incumbent Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, along with his counterpart Senator Joe Ikpea, sailed through the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary in Edo unopposed, and securing their tickets without a single vote cast against them.
Also Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama emerged the winner in the APC primary for the Edo South senatorial district.
Ogbeide-Ihama won in the seven local government areas of Edo South in the results announced by the Chairman of APC National Assembly Primary Election, Muhammed Ajana at the Urokpota Hall, Benin.
He polled 27,154 votes while his opponents, Senator Neda Imasuen, got 13,580, and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu got 6785.
The elections were hitch-free in Edo North and Edo Central, where there was no contest against the incumbents, Senators Oshiomhole of Edo North and Ikpea of Edo Central, respectively.
Ajana at the Urokpota Hall said the collation arose from votes cast in the seven local government areas made up of 77 wards where elections were conducted by members of the committee.
He said, “There are seven local governments that make up the Edo South Senatorial District. We have heard from the Returning officers from the seven local government areas. From the collation, the cumulative result we have for Edo South Senatorial District is this; Ogbeide-Ihama with 27,154 votes, Imasuen with 13,580 votes and Ize-Iyamu with 6, 785.
“This is the total reflection of what has transpired from the ward level to the local government and the Edo South senatorial district collation centre. With this we await further directives from the National Secretariat, we have done our best by collating the results which is our mandate, to collate the results and send them to the National Secretariat.”
However, it was gathered that Ize-Iyamu emerged as the APC candidate for Edo South Senatorial race. He claimed to have clinched the party’s ticket after defeating Ogbeide-Ihama and Imasuen.
It was claimed that the Chief Returning Officer, Abubakar Muhammad Kabiru, officially declared Ize-Iyamu the winner after securing the highest number of votes cast.
On his part, the senator representing the district condemned the exercise describing it as a sham allegedly designed to favour a preferred aspirant.
Imasuen spoke while reacting to events at his polling unit in Umagbae North Ward 5, Urhokuosa where he said he was denied the opportunity to vote following what he described as a chaotic and manipulated process.
The lawmaker accused leaders of the party of openly adopting a preferred candidate ahead of the exercise and intimidating members into supporting that aspirant.
He said, “There is nothing satisfactory about this sham of election they did today and it is very unfortunate because as a loyal party member, I expected something better than this.”
He said the warning signs emerged days before the primary when some ward chairmen allegedly informed him that they had been directed not to receive him during consultations.
Imasuen claimed that some ward leaders openly told him the party had already adopted a preferred aspirant, identified as Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, making further consultations unnecessary.
Politics
Ajuloopin Suffers Setback as Home Ward Rejects Third Term Return Bid in Kwara APC Primary
The re-election bid of the member representing Ekiti/Isin/Irepodun/Oke-Ero Federal Constituency, Hon. Raheem Tunji Olawuyi, popularly known as Ajuloopin, suffered a major setback on Friday after party members in his home ward, Omu-Aran Ward 1, boycotted the All Progressives Congress APC House of Representatives primary.
According to party stakeholders and observers present at the exercise, no valid election took place in the ward after members refused to participate in protest against what they described as the lawmaker’s poor performance after three consecutive terms in the House of Representatives.
Sources in the ward said efforts by some political figures and loyalists to persuade members to back Ajuloopin’s ambition failed, with party faithful insisting they would not endorse what they termed an attempt to impose his candidacy again.
The boycott led to a breakdown of the electoral process in Omu-Aran Ward 1, with many members staying away from the polls entirely. Stakeholders have called on the APC Electoral Committee to disregard any result purportedly presented from the ward, arguing that no credible primary was conducted there.
Political observers in the constituency described the development as a significant blow to Ajuloopin, noting that the rejection came from his own ward and among constituents most familiar with his record.
Preliminary reports from other parts of Irepodun, Isin and Oke-Ero local government areas, where voting proceeded, also indicated weak support for the incumbent. Many party members were said to have voted for alternative aspirants.
APC stakeholders have urged the party leadership to review reports from affected wards and accept only authentic and verifiable results to preserve the credibility of the primaries. They stressed that internal democracy was critical to the party’s prospects in the constituency and warned against imposing unpopular candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
With tension rising across the federal constituency, party faithful said the leadership must listen to grassroots members and allow delegates and supporters to determine the outcome of the primaries.
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