Rivers State Local Government Chairman Ends Today
The current local government chairmen in Rivers State are packing their bags and bidding farewell to their offices today, June 17, 2024. Because their tenure extension, which was supposed to keep them in power for an additional six months, has been declared null and void by the Rivers State High Court.
The court ruled that the Local Government Law No. 2 of 2024, which granted the extension, was inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and Section 9(1) of the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018. This law, my dear human, fixed the tenure of local government chairmen and councilors at three years, not three years plus a six-month bonus.
The court’s decision came in a case filed by Enyiada Cookey-Gam & 6 Ors, who challenged the extension of the chairmen’s tenure. The judge, Justice D.G. Kio, declared that any attempt to extend the tenure was unlawful and violated the officials’ oath of office.
