Two indigenes of Kogi State have approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain Governor Usman Ododo from dissolving the 21 Local Government Area (LGA) chairmen in the state.
The plaintiffs, Mustapha Abdul and Ahmed Haruna, are also seeking an order of perpetual injunction stopping Ododo from appointing caretaker or interim committees to run the affairs of the local governments.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1490/2026, filed on July 10 by their lawyer, I. Ibrahim, the plaintiffs joined the Attorney-General of Kogi State, the Kogi State House of Assembly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) as co-defendants.
Through an originating summons brought pursuant to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the plaintiffs raised six questions for determination by the court.
Key among the issues is whether Governor Ododo can validly dissolve democratically elected council chairmen after two years in office, in light of Sections 1(1–3), 4(7), 5(2–3), and 14(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
They are also asking the court to determine whether the tenure of the 21 council chairmen and their cabinets has expired under Section 51(1) Part VI of the Kogi State Local Government Administration Law, 2025, alongside constitutional provisions.
Abdul and Haruna are praying the court to declare that the governor lacks the power to dissolve elected council chairmen, and that the tenure of the current council executives remains active under the law.
In an affidavit sworn to by Haruna, the plaintiff stated that he hails from Sharia in Bassa LGA while Abdul is from Alloma in Ofu LGA.
Haruna argued that as registered voters and taxpayers, they are directly impacted by governance at the local government level, which is guaranteed as a democratic tier under Section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
He further deposed that no provision in the 1999 Constitution or state laws empowers the governor to sack elected local council officials, adding that the governor’s actions have created tension across grassroots communities.
The matter has been assigned to Justice Inyang Ekwo for hearing.
