Following agitation for the conduct of fresh council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that the incumbent area council chairmen in the FCT would remain in office till 2026.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification, on Friday, at a meeting with leadership of political parties in Abuja. He said the National Assembly has since repealed and re-enacted the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) as the Electoral Act 2022.
The meeting was convened to provide clarity on the tenure of the six area council chairmen and 62 councillors. According to Yakubu, the National Assembly extended the tenure of the councils from three to four years, thereby aligning it with executive and legislative elections nationwide.
“This is one of the important provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. The act came into force on Friday, February 25, 2022, two weeks after the last council elections in the FCT.
“By the time the elected chairmen and councillors were sworn-in four months later on June 14, 2022, they took their oath of allegiance and oath of office on the basis of the new electoral act, that is the Electoral Act 2022, which provides for four-year tenure. Consequently, their tenure, therefore, expires in June 2026,” Yakubu stated.
The INEC boss explained 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.
According to him, for the executive, the tenure belongs to the elected individual while for legislators; the tenure belongs to the legislature.
