Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Austin Okezie Meregini, has dismissed speculations that the Assembly is considering reducing the tenure of local government chairmen from four to two years.
Meregini, who spoke to FLO 94.9 FM, Umuahia, on Thursday, explained that the Abia State Local Government Administration Bill, 2025, sponsored by Okoro Uchenna Kalu (Arochukwu), mistakenly included a two-year tenure for local government chairmen instead of the existing four-year term.
He assured that the error had been identified and would be corrected during deliberations at the Committee of the Whole stage of the legislative process.
He further emphasized that there was no intention to alter the tenure of the currently elected chairmen.
He added that even if such a change were to be considered, it would only apply after their tenure expires.
On concerns about local government finances, Meregini dismissed claims that the bill seeks to cut allocations due to the local government areas.
He insisted that the Assembly’s role is to provide legislative guidance on expenditure and revenue generation.
Before the explanation by the Deputy Speaker, many of the local government chairmen were said to have been gripped by fear of having their four-year tenure reduced to two years.