During a meeting with the leadership of the Inter-Party Advisory Council in Abuja, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, clarified that the tenure of the elected chairmen and councillors in the six Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will end in June 2026. This clarification was necessary due to numerous inquiries from stakeholders regarding the tenure of these officials.
Yakubu explained that the Electoral Act 2022, which came into effect on February 25, 2022, extended the tenure of Area Council officials from three to four years, aligning it with national executive and legislative elections. This extension applies to the current officials who took their oaths of office on June 14, 2022, setting their tenure to expire in June 2026.
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He emphasized that the tenure is determined by the date of the oath of office, not the date of the election. Yakubu cited judicial authorities to support this interpretation, stating that tenure for executive positions begins from the date of the oath of office.
Yakubu reassured the public of INEC’s commitment to upholding the law and announced that the timetable and schedule for the next Area Council elections would be released in accordance with the required 360-day notice before the election date. He urged all aspirants and political parties to adhere to the legal provisions and judicial pronouncements regarding tenure.
The clarification addressed the confusion stemming from the transition between the Electoral Act 2010 and the Electoral Act 2022, ensuring that the tenure of the current Area Council officials is in accordance with the latest legal framework.
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