There appears to be uncertainty over the tenure of the chairmen of the 27 Local Government Councils in Imo State, whose terms are officially expected to expire in August this year.
The uncertainty follows reports circulating in some quarters that the council chairmen have threatened to drag the state government to court if they are not allowed to complete a three-year tenure.
It was also gathered that the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) has yet to publish guidelines for the conduct of the local government elections, preparations for which ought to have commenced by now.
There are also speculations that the state government is indirectly behind ISIEC’s failure to release the election guidelines, as well as the alleged move by the council chairmen to seek tenure extension through the courts, because the government has no intention of conducting the elections.
Although the council chairmen, in a statement jointly signed by them, denied seeking tenure elongation through the courts, there are indications that they may have approached the court as speculated, with the aim of stalling plans for local government elections that would usher in a new set of council leaders across the state.
A Government House source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our reporter:
“As of now, nobody understands what is actually happening. I intend to contest the chairmanship election, but no one knows whether the governor genuinely wants to conduct the election. So, we are all waiting for a clear signal from the governor instead of wasting our money campaigning for an election that may never hold.”
Note: The claims about the chairmen approaching the court and the government’s alleged role are attributed to speculation and anonymous sources. Unless independently verified, it is advisable to clearly present them as allegations or include responses from the affected parties for balance.
