A High Court sitting in Koton-Karfe, Kogi State, has dismissed a suit challenging the tenure of local government officials in the state, holding that the Kogi State Electoral Law is not inconsistent with the Electoral Act 2026 or the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
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Justice Aminu Eri, delivering judgment on Friday, held that the claimant failed to establish any constitutional or statutory conflict between the state laws regulating the tenure of local government officials and the federal electoral framework.
The suit was instituted by a former councillor in Ibaji Local Government Council, who challenged his removal from office after serving for two years and sought the court’s interpretation of the provisions governing the tenure of local government chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors in Kogi State.
The claimant specifically challenged Section 50 of the Kogi State Local Government Law 2023 and Sections 25 and 26 of the law as amended in 2025.
Through his legal team led by J.A. Akubo, SAN, alongside T.U. Odoma, S.S. Udaa and A.O. Apeh, the claimant argued that the two-year and three-year tenures provided under the state laws were inconsistent with Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution.
He urged the court to recognise a four-year tenure for local government officials, relying on Sections 112 and 253 of the Electoral Act 2026, which provide for a four-year tenure for officials of the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils.
The Kogi State Government, the State Independent Electoral Commission and the Kogi State House of Assembly opposed the suit.
Their counsel, including Abdulwahab Zakari, O.O. Adegboyega, V.A. Shaibu and S.A. Abbas, argued that the constitutional framework gives state Houses of Assembly legislative authority over local government elections and related matters within their respective states.
They maintained that Kogi State had not breached any constitutional provision by prescribing the tenure of its local government chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors through state legislation.
In resolving the dispute, Justice Eri held that the Constitution does not expressly stipulate a fixed tenure for local government chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors.
The judge further observed that the claimant’s case was largely founded on assumptions and statutory provisions specifically applicable to Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory.
According to the court, the four-year tenure provided under the Electoral Act for FCT Area Councils could not automatically be extended to local governments in Kogi State.
Justice Eri consequently held that the power to legislate on the tenure of local government officials in Kogi rested with the State House of Assembly and that the claimant had failed to demonstrate that the relevant provisions of the Kogi State laws conflicted with the Constitution or the Electoral Act.
The court therefore dismissed the suit for lacking merit.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the Kogi State House of Assembly, S.A. Abbas and Abdulwahab Zakari, welcomed the decision, describing it as a reaffirmation of the constitutional authority of state legislatures to regulate the tenure of local government officials through state laws.
Counsel to the claimant, however, said the legal team would study the judgment, while acknowledging that the court had upheld the validity of the Kogi State legislation against the constitutional and statutory challenge brought before it.
The matter had earlier come before Justice Eri on Wednesday, when the parties adopted their preliminary applications, motions and affidavits.
The court subsequently adjourned until Friday, October 9, 2026, when it delivered its judgment dismissing the suit.
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