Fifty-six serving councillors in Anambra State have filed a suit challenging the constitutional validity of the state law limiting the tenure of elected local government officials to two years.
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The councillors instituted the action, marked A/261/2026, before the Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka.
They joined the Attorney-General of Anambra State, the Anambra State House of Assembly and the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission as the first, second and third defendants, respectively.
The plaintiffs are challenging Section 110(A) of the Anambra State Electoral (Amendment No. 3) Law, 2024, which provides a two-year tenure for elected local government chairmen, deputy chairmen and ward councillors in the state.
They contend that the provision is inconsistent with Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees a system of democratically elected local government councils.
According to the councillors, the constitutional guarantee contemplates a secure, stable and reasonable tenure that would enable elected local government officials to deliver effective governance at the grassroots.
They argue that the Constitution does not permit state authorities to arbitrarily terminate the mandate of elected council officials after only two years.
The plaintiffs are consequently asking the court to declare Section 110(A) unconstitutional, null and void and of no legal effect.
They also want the court to strike down and expunge the provision from the laws of Anambra State on the ground that it conflicts with the 1999 Constitution.
The councillors are further seeking a declaration that they and other democratically elected local government officials are entitled to a secure and uniform four-year tenure similar to the tenure enjoyed by elected officials at the federal and state levels.
They are asking the court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents or anyone acting on their behalf from dissolving, terminating or interfering with the tenure of the current elected local government councils upon the expiration of two years.
The plaintiffs also want ANSIEC restrained from publishing an election timetable, conducting an election or taking any other step intended to replace them before the expiration of the four-year tenure they claim.
The suit was filed barely more than a month before the local government elections scheduled for August 29, 2026.
The impending election could replace the serving chairmen and councillors if the two-year tenure prescribed by the state law is allowed to stand.
The Anambra State House of Assembly amended the state’s electoral law in September 2024 to provide a two-year tenure for local government chairmen, deputy chairmen and councillors.
The amendment, described as the third alteration to the state electoral law within that period, was passed during plenary in Awka.
The lawmakers relied on Order 74, Clause 1 of the House Standing Orders, which allows the three stages of a bill to be completed in one day where two-thirds of the members present approve the procedure.
The defendants have yet to publicly respond to the suit, while the court has not determined the councillors’ claims.
The reliefs sought remain allegations and legal arguments awaiting determination by the Anambra State High Court.
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