YENAGOA — The Bayelsa State High Court has ordered all parties in the legal dispute involving the Executive Chairman of Sagbama Local Government Area, Hon. Alice Tangi Allen, to maintain the status quo, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive applications before the court.
The order, issued on August 10, 2026, by Justice D.E. Adokeme, sitting as vacation judge of the Yenagoa Judicial Division of the Bayelsa State High Court, followed an ex parte application filed by the council chairperson.
The court directed the parties to maintain the existing position pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed alongside the application. The substantive matter has reportedly been slated for expedited hearing on August 20.
The development has, however, created fresh tension as the Bayelsa State House of Assembly has summoned Tangi Allen to appear before it today, Tuesday, August 18, in connection with moves against her administration.
The Assembly’s invitation has become controversial because it was issued while the court’s status quo order remains in force.
Tangi Allen’s counsel, Michael Jonathan Numa, SAN, reportedly wrote the Assembly on August 17, urging the lawmakers to suspend the invitation and refrain from taking further steps on the matter until the court determines the pending application.
According to the lawyer, the chairperson’s decision not to honour the invitation at this stage is not an assertion that the Assembly lacks the constitutional power to summon her. Rather, he argued that her appearance while the court order remains in force could amount to disobedience of the judicial directive.
Numa reportedly assured the Assembly that his client would appear before it once the court had pronounced on the pending applications and would also attend to matters outside the subject of the litigation.
Allegations against council chairperson The dispute reportedly centres on allegations concerning the management of council funds and the administration of the local government.
Among the allegations said to have been raised against the chairperson are that some council funds were expended without the required approvals and that the council’s annual budget had not been submitted.
There have also been allegations linking council funds to activities of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). Those allegations have not been established by any court and should therefore be treated as claims pending determination.
The controversy has also assumed a political dimension. Tangi Allen was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and was among the few Bayelsa local government chairpersons who did not join other council bosses in publicly aligning with Governor Douye Diri after his defection from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in October 2025.
Reports at the time showed that six of the eight Bayelsa council chairmen announced their resignation from the PDP and declared support for Diri’s political realignment, while Tangi Allen and the Brass council chairman, Lucky Febo, were absent from the declaration.
Tangi Allen has also been described as a political associate of former Governor of Bayelsa State and National Leader of the NDC, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson. She has nevertheless remained in the PDP, the platform on which she was elected.
Political observers have consequently interpreted the pressure against her from different perspectives, with some alleging that her political position may be connected to the current crisis. However, neither the Bayelsa State Government nor the House of Assembly has publicly established that her political affiliation is the reason for the proceedings against her.
Women’s group raises alarm The controversy had earlier attracted the attention of the Centre for Women’s Rights and Development Initiative (CWRDI), which in July alleged that there was a plan to suspend and remove Tangi Allen from office.
The organisation described Tangi Allen as the only female elected local government chairperson in Bayelsa State under the current democratic dispensation and warned that removing an elected chairperson outside due process would undermine local government autonomy and women’s participation in politics.
The group alleged that the reported move was connected to Tangi Allen’s refusal to defect from the PDP to the APC. The Bayelsa State Government and other parties named in the allegation had not publicly accepted the claim at the time.
Sagbama residents protest The controversy has also generated protests in Sagbama. Residents, youths and women groups staged a series of peaceful solidarity walks in Sagbama earlier this month, demanding that Tangi Allen be allowed to complete her tenure.
The protesters appealed to political leaders and relevant authorities to resolve the dispute through dialogue, arguing that the chairperson had only about seven months left in office and that her removal could generate unnecessary political tension in the local government. The demonstrations were reported to have been peaceful, with residents carrying placards and calling for the restoration of the chairperson.
Court order raises constitutional questions The latest development has also brought the question of local government autonomy back into focus.
In its landmark judgment of July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court held that democratically elected local government councils are constitutionally protected and barred state governments from arbitrarily dissolving elected councils. The apex court also ordered that funds standing to the credit of local governments be paid directly to democratically elected councils.
The Supreme Court’s decision was based on the constitutional status of local governments as a distinct tier of government and its interpretation of the provisions governing their democratic administration and financial autonomy.
Legal questions surrounding the Sagbama crisis are therefore expected to focus not only on the allegations against the council chairperson, but also on the extent of the powers of the state legislature and other state institutions to interfere with the tenure of a democratically elected local government administration while a court matter concerning the same subject is pending.
For now, the immediate issue is whether the House of Assembly will proceed with its invitation to Tangi Allen despite the August 10 High Court order directing the parties to maintain the status quo.
The court is expected to hear the pending motion on August 20, a development that could determine the next legal and political direction of the Sagbama Local Government crisis.
Until then, the dispute remains a developing confrontation involving the executive leadership of Sagbama Local Government, the legislative authorities and the judiciary, with significant implications for local government autonomy and political stability in Bayelsa State.