Niger LG Chairman Sues State Government Over Tenure Reduction, Seeks to Halt November Elections

The Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State, Alhaji Aminu Yakubu-Ladan, has taken legal action against the state government, challenging the alleged reduction of the tenure of local government chairmen and councillors. In a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Yakubu-Ladan is seeking an order to stop the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) and other defendants from conducting the planned local government elections until the expiration of the current tenure.

NSIEC had scheduled the local government elections for November 1 across the state. The suit 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 the 1st to 5th defendants, respectively.

Yakubu-Ladan is contesting the validity of the Niger State Local Government Law of 2001, which reduced the tenure of local government officials from four years to three. Through an originating summons (marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1370/2025), filed on July 11 by his counsel, Chris Udeoyibo, the chairman raised eight constitutional questions for the court’s determination. He argued that the amended Local Government Law conflicts with the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022.

The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that a four-year tenure for local government chairmen and councillors is constitutionally guaranteed. He also wants the court to restrain NSIEC from organizing the November 1 elections and to prevent INEC and the Inspector-General of Police from providing logistical and security support for the polls. Yakubu-Ladan maintained that the 2001 law is inconsistent with Section 7 of the Constitution and Sections 018 and 150 of the Electoral Act, 2022.