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Ikenna Ngere
Guest
The Lagos State House of Assembly has announced plans to hold another public hearing to review the Local Government Administration law.
Naija News reports that this decision was made during a session led by Speaker Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa on Monday.
The Assembly also summoned the State’s Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro, to clarify the recent Supreme Court ruling on financial autonomy for local governments.
Speaker Obasa emphasized that the proposed review is not aimed at dismantling the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) but to strengthen their role.
“We are not scrapping the LDCAs. Rather, what we are trying to do is to look at the recent Supreme Court judgement in terms of Lagos and local governments joint account and fashion out a way where the parent local governments and the LDCAs work together without the LDCAs shortchanged,” he explained.
Obasa acknowledged the need for a second public hearing day, stating that he had received numerous inquiries regarding the fate of the LCDAs.
He also highlighted the importance of working with the National Assembly to formally recognize the LCDAs.
Referencing Kano State’s 44 local governments, Obasa suggested a review of the revenue allocation formula by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
He pointed out that Kano’s division into Jigawa, which now has 27 local governments, provided a case for Lagos to push for the listing of its LCDAs.
Chairman of the Committee on Local Government, Hon. Sanni Okanlawon, presented a report on the initial public hearing, noting that many stakeholders were absent, largely due to inclement weather. He requested the approval of a second hearing date.
Supporting the proposal, Hon. Ladi Ajomale mentioned that there was confusion among the public, with some fearing that the government intended to abolish the LCDAs.
“A lot of people are saying they do not understand what is going on and maybe the government is trying to wipe some people out of the local government system,” he said.
He called for greater collaboration with the National Assembly to help substantiate the LCDAs as formal local governments.
Hon. Desmond Elliot further stressed that Lagos, given its size, population, and economic significance, must push for the LCDAs to be formally recognized, comparing it to Anambra State, which has fewer local governments but lacks Lagos’ economic weight.
“Anambra state has 21 local governments and it is nowhere close to what Lagos has in terms of resources, economic importance and dividends of democracy,” he said.
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