On Friday, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said the tenure of the current elected Local Council Chairmen and their Councillors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would expire in June 2026.

He clarified when he received members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the umbrella body of all the political parties in Nigeria, led by its National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed Dantalle, who is also the Chairman of Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Prof. Yakubu said the six Council Chairmen and their 62 Councillors have a four-year tenure and election into the office is usually conducted by the National INEC.
“Nigerians are aware that the National Assembly has since repealed and re-enacted the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) as the Electoral Act 2022. In particular, in exercising its powers as the law-making body for the FCT, the National Assembly extended the tenure of the Area Councils from three to four years, thereby aligning it with executive and legislative elections nationwide.

“This is one of the important provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. The Act came into force on Friday 25th February 2022, two weeks after the last Area Council elections in the FCT. By the time the elected Chairmen and Councillors were sworn in four months later on 14th June 2022, they took their oath of allegiance and oath of office based on the new electoral Act (i.e. the Electoral Act 2022) which provides for a four-year tenure. Consequently, their tenure therefore expires in June 2026.

According to him, tenure is not defined by the date of election but by the date of the oath of office for executive elections or the date of inauguration for legislative houses. “For the executive, the tenure belongs to the elected individual while for legislators, the tenure belongs to the Legislature. A President/Vice President-elect, Governor/Deputy Governor-elect, Senator-elect, Member-elect, Chairman-elect or Councillor-elect cannot exercise the powers of office and draw from the remuneration attached to it until such a person is sworn in or the legislative house is inaugurated.

“To further illustrate this position, the Commission has since released the Timetable for the 2024 Edo and Ondo State Governorship elections. This does not mean that whoever wins the election in Edo State in September or Ondo State in November will immediately assume office. This will only take place after the administration of the oath of office upon the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent holders of the offices. Elections are only held earlier to avoid a vacuum. That is why the Constitution empowers the Commission to hold elections not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the end of the tenure of incumbent holders of elective offices.

“Again, there are several judicial authorities, including the judgement of the Supreme Court, that tenure begins from the date of oath of office and not the date of election. The Law Firms that have written INEC on behalf of their clients ought to have drawn their attention to both the law and judicial pronouncements on the matter”, he said.

Prof. Yakubu said in the case of the FCT, Section 108(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 under which the current Chairmen and Councillors were sworn-in on 14th June 2022 is clear and therefore unambiguous: ‘(1) An Area Council shall stand dissolved at the expiration of 4 years commencing from the date – (a) when the Chairman took the oath of office; or (b) when the legislative arm of the Council was inaugurated whichever is earlier’.

As you are all aware, the Area Council election in the FCT conducted by INEC remains a model for Local Government elections in the country. Tenure is stable for Chairmen and Councillors. There has never been a caretaker committee in any Area Council in the FCT.

“Democratic elections are conducted regularly. There is a plurality of electoral outcomes as no single political party has ever won elections in all the 68 Constituencies (six Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councillors). We will continue to uphold the sanctity of tenure and improve the credibility of these elections”.

He therefore, appealed to all persons with ambition to contest for the positions of Chairmen and Councillors in the FCT to be guided by the provisions of the law and judicial pronouncements on the issue of tenure.

The INEC boss also appealed to political parties to enlighten their members accordingly adding that at the appropriate time, the Commission will release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election.

Prof. Yakubu appreciated the role of IPAC in mobilising stakeholders in the FCT to interface with INEC on this very important matter stressing that this was one of the objectives behind the formation of IPAC so that when matters of this nature come up, the Commission will always be available to interact with you and provide the necessary clarifications”, Yakubu said.

IPAC Chairman, Alhaji Dantalle said the visit was for the Commission to make its position known on the tenure of the local councils in the FCT known to them.