By Tony Okafor
The Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission recently released its timetable for the next local government elections, in line with Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Section 23 of the Anambra State Electoral Law 2024.
While this is commendable, a larger question remains unresolved: the tenure of elected Local Government Chairmen and Councillors.
At present, Anambra grants them just two years in office—an arrangement inconsistent with the four-year tenure constitutionally guaranteed to Governors, State and National Assembly members, and the President.
This inconsistency undermines local governance and short-changes the very people who depend most on grassroots institutions.
Local Government is the tier closest to the people. It is at this level that feeder roads are maintained, grassroots security safeguarded, boreholes provided, health centres kept functional, and markets properly regulated.
These projects demand time, consistency, and strategic planning. Yet, in Anambra, Chairmen barely find their footing before their terms are cut short.
The result is instability, poor planning, and councils reduced to political pawns rather than engines of development.
Across the country, the tide is shifting. The Supreme Court has affirmed that elected Local Government officials deserve four years in office. States like Benue, Rivers, Nasarawa, and Niger are already moving to align their laws accordingly.
Should Anambra—a state famed for progressive politics and intellectual leadership—lag behind on such a fundamental democratic issue?
A four-year tenure for councils would give leaders the opportunity to deliver measurable results. It would also strengthen grassroots democracy by ensuring that the people’s mandate translates into real, sustained governance—not a hurried, two-year sprint to nowhere.
What is good for the President, Governor, and legislator must also be good for the Local Government Chairman and Councillor. Anything less demeans democracy and disrespects Ndi Anambra.
The State House of Assembly must urgently revisit the law. Aligning Local Government tenure with the constitutionally recognised four years is not only a legal necessity but also a moral obligation.
Anambra cannot claim to champion grassroots empowerment while shackling the very institutions meant to drive it.
Ndi Anambra deserve councils that work—and councils can only work when given the time and stability to deliver.
