Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu on Friday clarified that the tenure of Local Government Chairmen and Councillors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will expire in 2026.
The INEC boss made the clarification when the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and some stakeholders came to his office seeking clarification on the tenure of the elected Federal Capital Territory elected executives.
In his remarks at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja during a meeting, the INEC boss stressed that the National Assembly amended the Electoral Act in 2022 and extended the tenure of the Area Councils from three to four years.
“In the case of the FCT” he said, “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:
“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”.
He said that the Commission had received inquiries from some Law Firms, individuals, political parties and FCT Chairmanship Aspirants’ Forum relating to the tenure of the Area Councils and demanding that the Commission should release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the Area Council elections.
He said that their inquiries were based on the provision of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which was the subsisting law at the time elections to the Area Councils were held on Saturday 12th February 2022 that provided for a three-year tenure for Chairmen and Councillors which, in their opinion, expires next year.
“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 on the basis of 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” Mahmoud said.
He went further to explain that “tenure is not defined by the date of election but 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 remunerations attached to it until such a person is sworn-in or the legislative house is inaugurated”.
He pointed out that 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 INEC boss commended the IPAC Chairman Yusuf Mohammed Dantalle, who doubles as Chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and members of his team for taking time to seek the clarification from the electoral empire.
