THE yearnings of the people in the grass roots of Ekiti State have been fulfilled with the signing into law of the Local Government Creation Development Bill by Governor Kayode Fayemi on Thursday, August 6, 2021. The assent given to the bill was a culmination of a long process which gave birth to the creation of 19 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) from the existing 16 Local Government Areas. The process for the creation of the LCDAs started during the first term of the governor in January 2014 when the Committee led by Justice Akinjide Ajakaye saddled with the assignment commenced work and rounded off its assignment before the governorship campaign of that year. The committee received memoranda, held public hearing and made on-the-spot visits to inspect structures that would facilitate the smooth take-off of the LCDAs, among other assignments before submitting its report to the state government. The bill for the creation of the LCDAs was forwarded to the Fourth Assembly which passed it after it was subjected to legislative scrutiny. It was signed into law by Fayemi to prepare the ground for their take-off. The LCDAs became operational in July 2014 with the appointment and swearing-in of caretaker chairmen and other members of their management committees until the change of government on October 16 of the same year.
Former Governor Ayo Fayose, shortly on assumption of power, scrapped the LCDAs on the ground that his administration would only be able to accommodate the 16 existing local councils. It should be noted that while Fayose scrapped the LCDAs by fiat, the Act that was passed by the Fourth Assembly was not repealed and still subsists giving the second Fayemi administration a legal and constitutional window to revisit the issue in the overriding public interest. Despite being scrapped by the Fayose administration, many of the communities approved as LCDA headquarters still retained the structures they had put in place to serve as council secretariats and left the signposts intact which showed that they still believed that their dreams would be fulfilled one day. Providence brought Fayemi back to office to bring those dreams to pass thereby answering the calls of the people for the return of the LCDAs on one hand and fulfilling an electoral promise on the other hand. That explained the joy in many communities following the assent given to the bill which gave a new life to the new councils.
Before the return of Fayemi to power for the second time, there were demands by stakeholders in the grass roots, including traditional rulers, chiefs, community associations, indigenes in Diaspora and most especially the communities who benefited from the 2014 exercise that they want the return of the LCDAs. The agitation reached a crescendo in the run-up to the July 14, 2018 governorship election which returned Fayemi to power when the communities through their leaders urged the governor to resuscitate the LCDAs if his comeback aspiration succeeds. Having used to first two years to stabilise the ship of the state and put the state on the path of attracting local and foreign investment, Fayemi cannot block his ears to the cries of the populace for the return of the LCDAs. Having successfully navigated the ship of the state to safety, the governor believes that now is the time to revisit the matter of the LCDAs and equally do so by ensuring that it goes through the due process.
The process started with the setting up of a Committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Segun Oluwole to review the Local Government Development Council Law, Ekiti State, 2014 and make recommendations on its relevance in view of current legal developments in the state. The committee acquitted itself with the assignment and came out with its report which was submitted to the Ministry of Justice. This paved the way for the executive to forward a bill to that effect to the Sixth Assembly presided over by Speaker Funminiyi Afuye which considered and passed it for governor’s assent. Since the bill was assented to by Mr. Governor which had given life to the LCDAs, excitement has returned to the grass roots again as God has used Fayemi again to restore their hope and dream that were dashed by the immediate past administration. The conventional media and the social media have been awash with commendations for the Fayemi administration for the courage to resuscitate the LCDAs with the communities believing that it would bring government nearer to them. Paid adverts and jingles on the private and the government-owned electronic media hailing the coming on stream of the LCDAs have been unprecedented as the locals can’t wait for them to commence real business.
This LCDA creation project is a seed sown by the Fayemi administration that will germinate with time and the support of the people as the political will to make them survive this time around is never in doubt. The hitherto local government structure imposed inconvenience on the people. For example, residents of Igbemo, Afao, Araromi Obbo, Orun, Are and Iworoko would have to go through Ado, the state capital, to reach Igede, which used to be their council headquarters to carry out one business or the other. The status of communities named as headquarters of the LCDAs has changed for good as they are expected to become centres of governance, politics, commerce, transport and other commercial activities. The influx of workers, visitors, contractors and investors to the new LCDAs will rub off positively on the towns and the people in so many ways. It was learnt that a good number of the communities through their associations have been making representations to their sons and daughters in Diaspora to donate funds, buildings and materials. The creation of the LCDAs is a blessing to local government workers as many of them will be posted there to function in various capacities and this will boost their career progression and give them opportunities to reach the peak.
It is also an avenue for more people in the grass roots to participate in governance as elected officials, as elections will soon be conducted into them in the next local government elections. In an apparent answer to critics of the project, the governor has assured that the LCDAs will not lack funding as means have been devised to ensure proper husbandry of finances from the federal allocations alongside the old local councils.
- Ogunmola is Special Assistant (Media) to the Ekiti State deputy governor.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…New Ekiti LCDAs New Ekiti LCDAs
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…New Ekiti LCDAs New Ekiti LCDAs
and then