FCT chairmen to remain in office until June 2026 -INEC
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has stated categorically that the tenure of incumbent six area council chairmen in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will end in 2026.
INEC, in a statement said it’s Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu. who made this known weekend in Abuja during a meeting with the leadership of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), political parties leaders and stakeholders in the FCT.
According to the statement, the clarification become necessary to educate politicians, especially those mounting pressure on INEC to release timetable for 2025 FCT council election without knowing that the constitutional tenure of FCT Chairmen has been extended.
The statement said law firms handling election petitions, political parties and a newly formed FCT Chairmanship Aspirants Forum have been mounting intense pressure on INEC over the tenure of serving area council chairmen demanding for the release of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the area council elections.
Yakubu explained that the tenure of serving chairmen and councillors began from the date they took the oath of office and not the date of election.
According to the statement, “The oath-taking ceremony for the current chairmen and councillors took place on June 14, 2022, under the old Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), which was replaced by the Electoral Act 2022 on February 25, 2022″.
The INEC Chairman explained further that the Electoral Act 2022 extended the tenure of area councils from three to four years, aligning it with executive and legislative elections nationwide, hence, the tenure of the current chairmen and councillors will expire in June 2026.
“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,” Yakubu explained.
Mahmood stated further that, “tenure is not defined by the date of election but by the date of oath of office for executive elections and 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.
“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”, Mahmood said.
He added that the law firms writing INEC on behalf of their clients ought to have drawn their attention to both the law and judicial pronouncements on the matter.
“You may also wish to note that when the Electoral Act 2022 was signed into law, two weeks after the Commission conducted the last Area Council elections in the FCT, the incumbent holders (Chairmen and Councillors) challenged us that we conducted the election too early, claiming that the new Electoral Act extended their tenure from three to four years.
“We reminded them that they took their oath of office under the old law before the coming into force of the new Electoral Act. Therefore, their tenure will expire in June 2022.”
The INEC chairman therefore urged political parties and individuals with ambitions to contest for area council positions in the FCT to be guided by the provisions of the law and judicial pronouncements on tenure issues.
“May I, therefore, appeal 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. I also appeal to political parties to enlighten their members accordingly. At the appropriate time, the Commission will release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election,” Mahmood said.
