Ayodele Olalere
Lagos State government has said that elections will be conducted in all 37 Local Council Local Council Development Areas in the state as the state prepares for the local government elections.
The clarification came on the backdrop of a recent bill by a member of the Lagos State House Assembly seeking the approval of the House to turn the LCDAs to administrative councils with administrators appointed for each council.
The move generated reactions from political stakeholders in the state with many condemning the move by the leadership of the House led by the speaker, Mudasiru Obasa accusing him of trying to destroy the legacy of the former governor of the state and now President, Bola Tinubu during whose tenure as governor of the state the LCDAs were created.
There were allegations that the move was a political strategy by Obasa to install his loyalists as administrators in the councils who would work for him when he finally declares his intention to contest for the governorship of the state.
Obasa’s governorship ambition has been seen as one of the reasons behind his continuous disrespect for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is reportedly not backing his ambition.
As soon as President Bola Tinubu arrived Lagos for the yuletide celebrations, several political meetings were held where the president reportedly lambasted the speaker for his continuous disrespect for the office of the governor, leaders of the party such as the Governance Advisory Council, GAC, and his move to turn the LCDAs to administrative councils.
In a statement by the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC signed by the chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, the party clarified that elections will be conducted into the 37 LCDAs along the 20 local government areas.
“In recent times, the leadership of APC in Lagos State has been inundated by the media, party members and other stakeholders on information about the conduct of the forthcoming Local Government elections, most especially if elections will hold in the 37 Local Council Development Areas.
it has become expedient to clear the air on the needless and distractive speculation.
We wish to inform all and sundry that the Local Government elections will hold across the state in the 20 Local Government Councils and the 37 Local Council Development Areas in the year 2025,” the statement stated.
It added: “Since their creation, the Local Council Development Areas have not only been the closest to the grassroots but also brought the desired developments across the state.
We observed with keen interest the recent debates on the desirability of the existence of the LCDAs and the need to hold elections in their political offices.
Our position as a progressive party is that we cannot discountenance the contributions of the LCDAs to the overall political and socio-economic development of the state.”
The statement further noted that the creation of the LCDAs has contributed to the development of the state through infrastructural projects and urged Lagosians ‘to continue to coexist peacefully as we all strive to maintain the leading position of our state in the federation.
