A High Court in Rivers State has nullified the six-month tenure elongation of the state’s local government chairmen granted by the Martins Amaewhule-led house of assembly.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday in a case filed by Enyiada Cookey-Gam & 6 Others vs The Governor of Rivers State & Others, Justice Daketima Kio, the presiding judge, declared Local Government Law No. 2 of 2024, whose provisions extended the tenure of local government chairmen, invalid.
He ruled that the law was inconsistent with the 1999 constitution and section 9(1) of Rivers State Law No. 5 of 2018, which fixed three-year tenure for local government chairmen and councillors.
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The Martins Chike Amaewhule-led assembly amended Local Government Law Number 5 of 2018, amidst the political crisis in the state.
The amended law allows the House of Assembly to extend the tenure of the elected chairmen and councillors where elections are not held before the expiration of their three-year tenure.
