Chief Tony Okocha, the APC leader in Rivers State, has stated that the former 23 local government chairmen of the state are merely advocating for the law to be obeyed, not seeking an extension of their terms.
In an interview with The Sun, he used Section 135 of the Nigerian Constitution as justification for the movement to extend their tenures.
He noted that if there are unstable conditions that might prevent an election from taking place before the current Nigerian president's term expires, the constitution permits him to serve an extra six months in office.
Okocha claimed that Rivers State domesticated that part of the Constitution to support the council chairmen's tenure extension. Thus, he insisted that the Caretaker Committee chairs appointed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara "do not exist" and called them an anomaly.
Okocha responded to allegations that the chairmen appear to be pressing for an extension rather than stepping down from their positions after their terms have ended.
Quoting his response, "They are not pushing for extension; they are pushing for the law to be followed. Let me tell you, there was no plan for tenure elongation at any time at all."
"What the Assembly did was to fill a gap, a lacuna that may exist, and besides, there is a section in the Nigerian constitution."
"I am told Section 135, I’m not a lawyer. That section of the constitution allows the president an additional six months in office should there be any circumstance, such as war or any other extraneous circumstances, that may make an election impossible within the period of the expiration of tenure."
"The law says that what will happen in that sense is that the National Assembly will convoke a special session and pass a resolution mandating the president to be in office for another six months."
"In the first instance, that is the law. So, I domesticated that law to Rivers State against the backdrop of the body language of the governor."