By Bilesanmi Abayomi
In a bid to address the long-standing issue of unrecognized Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State, President-elect Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu has expressed his intention to complete the unfinished business of incorporating these entities into the Nigeria constitution. The LCDAs were created during Tinubu’s tenure as Governor of Lagos State, but many of them have yet to receive recognition from the Federal Government.
Back in 2003, the Alliance for Democracy (AD)-led government under Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu divided several existing local councils in Lagos State into 37 LCDAs for administrative purposes. However, some of these LCDAs, including Agbado/Oke-Odo, Agboyi/Ketu, Agege, Ajeromi, Alimosho, Apapa, Apapa-Iganmu, Ayobo/Ipaja, Badagry West, Badagry, Bariga, Coker Aguda, Egbe Idimu, Ejigbo, Epe, Eti-Osa East, Eti-Osa West, Iba, Odi Olowo/Ojuwoye, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ifelodun, Igando/Ikotun, Igbogbo/Bayeku, Itire Ikate, and Kosofe, among others, are still awaiting formal recognition.
According to Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the system of local government by democratically elected local government councils is guaranteed, and every state government is mandated to ensure their existence through appropriate legislation. However, the LCDAs created in Lagos State were not statutorily approved by the National Assembly, leading to a Supreme Court judgment that deemed their creation “valid but inchoate.”
Despite the failure of successive administrations under the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the National Assembly in the past eight years to rectify the situation, speculations abound regarding alleged wrongs committed by the former People’s Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration under President Olusegun Obasanjo, which allegedly withheld monthly allocations to the local governments in Lagos State.
With the imminent assumption of office by President-elect Bola Tinubu, who played a significant role in the creation of the LCDAs nearly two decades ago, and the expected proclamation of an APC-controlled National Assembly, it is anticipated that efforts will be made to enlist the unrecognized LCDAs to perform the same functions as the Local Government Areas (LGAs). Tinubu, alongside the APC-controlled National Assembly, is expected to work in tandem to resolve this issue and review the long-overdue Special Status for Lagos State, among other matters, during his tenure.