Kogi LG Tenure: Court Reserves Ruling On Suit Seeking Four-Year Term For Elected Officials
Kogi LG Tenure: Court Reserves Ruling On Suit Seeking Four-Year Term For Elected Officials
The court admitted preliminary applications, motions and affidavits filed by the claimant and defendants before adjourning the matter until Wednesday, October 7, 2026, for ruling.
The Kogi State High Court sitting in Koton Karfe has fixed Wednesday for ruling in a suit seeking to extend the tenure of elected local government officials in the state from two or three years to four years.
The suit was filed by Moses Christy, a councillor representing Okehi Local Government Council, on her own behalf and for all local government chairmen and councillors in Kogi State. It seeks to invalidate provisions of state law that set two- and three-year terms for elected local government officials.
The claimant argues that the provisions are inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and relevant electoral laws.
The matter came up on Monday before the Kogi State High Court sitting in Koton Karfe, presided over by Justice Aminu Eri.
The court admitted preliminary applications, motions and affidavits filed by the claimant and defendants before adjourning the matter until Wednesday, October 7, 2026, for ruling.
The claimant was represented by a legal team led by J.A. Akubo, SAN, alongside T.U. Odoma, S.S. Udaa and A.O. Apeh.
The Kogi State Government was represented by a legal team comprising Dr. Zakari, O.O. Adegboyega and V.A. Shaibu.
Speaking to journalists after Monday’s proceedings, Akubo said the suit was instituted against the Kogi State Government, the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) and the Kogi State House of Assembly.
He said the claimant was challenging Section 50 of the Kogi State Local Government Law 2023, as well as Sections 25 and 26 of the Kogi State Local Government Law, as amended in 2025.
According to the senior lawyer, the provisions provide for two-year and three-year tenures for elected local government officials.
Akubo argued that the provisions were inconsistent with the Constitution and relevant electoral legislation, insisting that local government administration should be governed by a uniform constitutional framework.
He also cited relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and referred to a similar case in Plateau State, where, according to him, a court ruled in favour of extending the tenure of elected local government officials to four years.
“What our client is seeking is not new. It has been tested and done in Plateau State,” Akubo said.
He further alleged that the respondents filed their counter-affidavits and other processes outside the time prescribed by the court.
Akubo said although the court admitted the respondents’ processes, it adjourned the matter for ruling and subsequent determination.
He expressed confidence that the court would deliver justice in the interest of the people of Kogi State.
The legal battle has assumed added significance with the Kogi State local government election scheduled for October 16, 2026.
Akubo said he was hopeful that the suit would be determined on an accelerated basis before the election.
He stressed that the claimant was seeking what he described as constitutional compliance in the administration of local governments in the state.
