By DADA AYOKHAI
Supporters and other stakeholders of recently elected council chairmen have expressed concern over the delay in the swearing-in of the newly elected chairmen and councillors across the 18 Local Government Areas of Edo State.
Edo people went to the polls on July 2026, to elect council officials. The election was contested solely by the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC), following a boycott by major opposition parties.
The APC went on to win all the 18 LGA chairmanship seats and 192 ward councillorship seats with a total of 2.1 million votes
The Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), subsequently presented Certificates of Return to the elected chairmanship candidates and councillors. With both the election and presentation of certificates concluded, voters are now asking when will the new officials will be sworn in?.
The date of the swearing-in has become a matter of debate among the winners and their supporters.
The current occupiers of the council offices were sworn in by the former Governor Godwin Obaseki administration on Monday, September 4, 2023. By law, their tenure is expected to lapse on September 4, 2026.
Sources say Governor Monday Okpebholo may be inclined to comply with the law by waiting to swear in the new chairmen on September 3, 2026.
Ironically, the present occupants of the councils are not the elected chairmen.
Following a crisis in December 2024, the Edo State House of Assembly suspended the 18 LGA chairmen and vice-chairmen for two months over a petition by Governor Okpebholo alleging insubordination and financial misconduct.
The Assembly also directed the suspended chairmen to hand over to the Leaders of the Legislative Councils, and later ordered their impeachment.
The move drew heavy backlash from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), condemned the suspensions as unconstitutional and a violation of the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy.
The suspended chairmen secured a restraining order from the Edo State High Court* directing that the status quo be maintained. However, observers say that order only existed on paper, as legislative leaders continued to act as council heads.
With the tenure of the current council officials due to expire in September, all eyes are now on Government House to see when the newly elected APC chairmen and councillors will assume office.
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