The Federal High Court in Abuja is set to determine whether Governor Usman Ododo can lawfully dissolve the tenure of Kogi State’s 21 elected local government chairmen, following a suit filed by two state indigenes challenging the proposed action.
- +Court to hear suit challenging Ododo’s bid to dissolve 21 Kogi LG councils
The plaintiffs, Mustapha Abdul and Ahmed Haruna, asked the court to restrain Ododo from dissolving the tenure of the 21 local government chairmen and appointing caretaker or interim committees to administer the councils.
The plaintiffs, Mustapha Abdul and Ahmed Haruna, asked the court to restrain Ododo from dissolving the tenure of the 21 local government chairmen and appointing caretaker or interim committees to administer the councils.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1490/2026, was filed on July 10 through their counsel, I. Ibrahim. The Attorney-General of Kogi State, the Kogi State House of Assembly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) were joined as defendants.
In the originating summons, the plaintiffs asked the court to determine whether, under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the governor has the power to dissolve the tenure of elected local government chairmen before it expires.
They also asked the court to determine whether the tenure of the 21 local government chairmen and their executive councils has expired under Section 51(1), Part VI of the Kogi State Local Government Administration Law, 2025, when read alongside the Constitution.
The plaintiffs are seeking declarations that the governor lacks the constitutional authority to dissolve elected local government administrations before the expiration of their tenure and that the current chairmen remain lawfully in office.
They also urged the court to restrain the state government from replacing the elected councils with caretaker or interim committees.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Haruna said he is from Sharia in Bassa Local Government Area, while Abdul is from Alloma in Ofu Local Government Area.
Haruna said that, as indigenes, registered voters and taxpayers in their respective local government areas, they have a direct interest in the administration of local governments, which the Constitution recognises as the third tier of government.
He argued that Section 7(1) of the Constitution guarantees a system of democratically elected local government councils and does not empower a state governor to dissolve elected councils or replace them with caretaker committees.
According to the affidavit, the governor’s alleged plan to remove the chairmen has created apprehension among residents over what the plaintiffs described as a potential breach of the constitutional provisions governing local government administration.
The case has been assigned to Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
