The Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State, Alhaji Aminu Yakubu-Ladan, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging the alleged reduction of tenure for elected local government chairmen and councillors across the state.
In the suit, Yakubu-Ladan is seeking an order restraining the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) and other defendants from conducting the local government elections scheduled for November 1, 2025, until the expiration of the constitutionally prescribed tenure of officeholders.
The chairman is challenging the constitutionality of the Niger State Local Government Law 2001 (as amended), which seeks to reduce the tenure of local government officials from four years to three years. The law, according to him, contradicts the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022.
The defendants listed in the suit are the Attorney-General of Niger State, the Niger State House of Assembly, NSIEC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Inspector-General of Police.
In the originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1370/2025 and filed by his counsel, Chris Udeoyibo, the plaintiff posed eight questions for the court’s determination. Chief among them is whether the state government has the constitutional authority to enforce a law inconsistent with the nation’s supreme legal framework.
Yakubu-Ladan also asked the court to declare Section 29(2) of the Niger State Local Government Law, 2001 unconstitutional, arguing that it is in direct conflict with Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution and Sections 018 and 150 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
He is seeking a declaration that local government chairmen and councillors are entitled to a four-year tenure as guaranteed under the Constitution and Electoral Act.
The suit further seeks an injunction to stop NSIEC from going ahead with preparations for the November 1 council polls. It also prays the court to restrain INEC and the Inspector-General of Police from providing logistical and security support for the elections.
As of the time of filing this report, the case is yet to be assigned to a judge.