Court nullifies two-year tenure for Plateau LG chairmen, orders four-year term

A Plateau State High Court sitting in Jos on Friday nullified the two-year tenure currently being served by elected local government chairmen in the state.

In a judgment delivered by Justice David Mann, the state Chief Judge,  the court held that the two-year tenure provided under Plateau State laws and that of the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission was inconsistent with Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The court consequently declared that local government chairmen in the state should serve a four-year tenure.

Justice Mann ruled that the shorter tenure contradicts constitutional provisions guaranteeing a democratically elected local government system.

The judge further held that the two-year tenure contained in the laws of the Plateau State Government and the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission could not stand because it undermines the constitutional framework for local government administration.

“I therefore grant a four-year tenure to elected local government chairmen in the state, aligning their tenure with the broader constitutional expectations for democratic governance at the grassroots level,” the judge ruled.

The judgment came barely two days after the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission approved adjustments to the timetable for the conduct of the 2026 local government elections in the state.

The commission had extended the period for political parties to conduct their primaries.

According to Pam Davou, the commission’s Secretary, political campaigns will end at midnight on September 7, 2026, ahead of the local government elections scheduled to hold across the 17 local government areas of the state on September 9, 2026.