
…Set to Replace 37 LCDAs with Administrative Areas
…Gives Governor Power to Suspend Erring Chairmen, Vice Chairmen
Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday held a public hearing on a planned Local Government Administration Bill. The bill seeks to replace the state’s current 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) with Administrative Areas.
The bill titled: ‘Local Government’s System, Establishment and Administration and to Consolidate All Laws on Local Government Administration and Connected Purposes,’ specified that the system of Local Government will be by democratically elected Local Governments. According to the Bill, there shall be twenty (20) Local Government Areas in the State as specified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
The bill follows the financial autonomy recently granted to the 774 local governments in the country by the Supreme Court. The court specified that allocations would not be released to any local government without democratically elected executive members.
It said: “As from the commencement of this Law, the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) shall conduct elections into the twenty (20) Local Government Councils in the state as recognised by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered).
“The twenty (20) Local Government Councils shall have designated Area Administrative Offices as listed in the 1st Schedule to this Law for effective and efficient local government administration.
“Each Local Government Area will have its headquarters in the place names in the third column of Schedule 1 to this Law. There shall be thirty-seven (37) Area Administrative Councils in the State with the names specified in Schedule 11 of the Creation of Local Government Areas (Amendment) Law of 2004.”
Each Local Government’s Administrative Council shall be headed by an Area Administrative Secretary, who shall be appointed by the Governor subject to the confirmation of the House.
The Bill stated further that each Area Administrative Council shall be funded by the Local Government Area under which it falls. It also stated that each Local Government Area has the power to delegate any of its functions to the Area Administrative Council falling within the territory of the Local Government Area.
In his welcome address, the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, said the bill seeks to further enhance how the third tier of government should be administered.
Obasa, who was represented by his Deputy, Mojisola Meranda, recalled that just about two weeks back, people were also gathered to deliberate on the electoral bill for the Local government elections which he said is the first right step before the House could go into how the local government should function.
He said: “This Bill has passed the preliminary stages and the House is hereby subjecting it to public appraisal in our transparent convention. At this stage, we subject the bill to public assessment, gathering public observations and thoughts to reflect on them in the next stage of the bill.
“The bill is seeking to consolidate all laws on Local Government administration. The law, when passed, will allow the local government to function optimally with strict adherence to the rule of law and separation of powers within the Local Government.
“The bill clearly states the functions of the Chairman, Vice chairman, Legislative council and other local government functionaries.
“The Bill also emphasises on creation of thirty–seven Area administrative councils, in addition to the original twenty Local Governments listed in the bill, the councils would be headed by Area administrative secretaries to be appointed subject to the approval of the House.”