Fifty-six serving councillors in Anambra State have approached the State High Court in Awka, challenging the legality of the two-year tenure approved for elected local government officials.
The suit, marked A/261/2026, names the Attorney General of Anambra State, the Anambra State House of Assembly and the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) as defendants.
The councillors are asking the court to declare Section 110(A) of the Anambra State Electoral (Amendment No. 3) Law, 2024, which fixes the tenure of local government chairmen, deputy chairmen and councillors at two years, as unconstitutional and inconsistent with Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
They argued that the Constitution guarantees a stable and secure system of local government that cannot be undermined through arbitrary tenure limitations.
The plaintiffs are seeking an order nullifying the provision, insisting that elected local government officials should enjoy a uniform four-year tenure, similar to elected office holders at the state and federal levels.
They also urged the court to restrain the state government and ANSIEC from dissolving the current councils or conducting fresh local government elections until the expiration of what they described as their constitutional four-year mandate.
The legal challenge comes ahead of the Anambra State local government election scheduled for August 29, 2026.
