Nasarawa to review tenure of council chairmen

The Nasarawa State executive council said it would collaborate with the state legislative arm to review the tenure of Local Government Chairmen and councillors in the state, describing the current one-year tenure as counterproductive and unacceptable.

Deputy Governor Silas Agara disclosed this in Lafia when he played host to officials of the Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC) who paid him a courtesy call.

Agara stated that government would work closely with the legislature with a view to review upward the one-year tenure set for local government chairmen in the state by the 4th assembly.

According to him nothing meaningful can be achieved under such circumstance where an elected chairman’s tenure is limited to 12 months.

The deputy governor said their administration would collaborate with the just-inaugurated 5th assembly in the state to review the law, in line with the constitutional provisions.

He added that the administration would also revamp and offer the electoral body all the necessary support, despite its lean resources to enable it’s discharge her duties even as he commended NASIEC for its fair conduct of the state’s 2014 local government election.

Earlier, the chairman of NASIEC, Dr. Abdullahi Modibbo, said the visit was to show solidarity with Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura and his deputy on their victory at the recently conducted elections. He then, appealed to the state government to improve on the commission’s funding, to enable it discharge its duties effectively.