Legal luminary, Gyang Zi backs Court’s ruling granting LG four-year tenure in Plateau
By Agada Daniel, Jos
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Gyang Yaya Zi has supported the Court ruling granting local governments four-year tenure in Plateau State, citing constitutional provisions.
Gyang Zi, argues governors have manipulated laws to control local governments, saying that the current ruling promotes local government autonomy.
Our correspondent reports that, on the 13th March, 2026, the State High Court sitting in Jos the Plateau State capital delivered a judgement extending the tenure of elected local government chairmen to four years.
Initially, the chairmen supposed to spend two years term based on the provision of Plateau State local government law.
Dissatisfied with the development, Plateau ALGON chairman,Hon. Hamisu Anani who doubled as the chairman of Wase LGA approached the Court instituted a suit against Plateau State government challenging the eligibility of two years tenure as local governments were autonomous.
He also seek interpretation of section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday in Jos on legal implications of the said judgement as well as other wide ranging national issues, Gyang Zi revealed that the current local government chairmen and councillors are direct beneficiaries of the judgement.
According to him, ” I argued that in the past. What is autonomy without actually complying with the provision of the constitution and pursuant to the pronouncement of the Supreme court that declared local government in Nigeria autonomous.
“All elected positions are for four years tenure. The president is four years, the governors four years, senators four years, the House of Representatives four years, the House of Assembly four years.
“And therefore, if the local government is third tier of government why shouldn’t it be four years?
“Over the years the governors have been kind of manipulative.
They worked in synergy with the state House of Assembly to make laws regulating the election and reducing the number of the years so that they can be in control of the process.
“As far as I am concerned the judgement is a welcome development”, he stated.
The legal luminary, Gyang Zi who is nursing the ambition of contesting the Plateau Northern Senatorial seat in 2027 general elections under the platform nof APC, acknowledged the 2026 electoral law particularly the sections that has to do with political parties primary and transmission of election results liberalize the process of election in Nigeria.
He said it is a good law but it depends on how we use it because the law is actually to enhance electoral process.
“Nigerians are used to abusing law when there is a provision to enhance our processes. We as a people we take advantage of that liberality and destroyed the process completely.”
On insinuation peddle by opposition parties that president Bola Ahmed Tinubu is moving Nigeria towards one party ahead of 2027, Gyang Zi empathically stated “that lack of internal democracy destroyed opposition parties in Nigeria.”
He also tasked Nigerians to be more determined and vote credible people into office in 2027, not gullible who don’t have vision to lead.
