State Assembly passes bill for creation of 35 LCDAs

The Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed into law the Local Government further Amendment Bill 2016, for the creation of 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the passage of the bill was sequel to the report of the Committee on Local Government Chieftaincy Matters and State Honour.

The Speaker, Mr Michael Adeyemo, said that the house was unanimous in the passage of the bill.

Adeyemo appreciated the entire members for their contributions, saying that the bill was important in order to bring government closer to the grassroots people.

He directed the clerk to produce a clean copy to the governor for assent.

NAN recalls that Adeyemo had said that the creation of LCDAs was long overdue considering the geographical size of the state.

However, Mr Ganiyu Oseni (Irepo/Olorunsogo/APC), described the distribution of the LCDAs as “injustice.”

According to him, the allocation of 11 LCDAs to Ibadan zone was `unfair’ when compared to the number allocated to other zones in the state.

Also, Mr Muideen Olagunju, (Accord-Oyo East and Oyo West) drew attention to the dissatisfaction of persons yearning for more LCDAs allocation to their zones.

Messers Fatai Adesina, (Accord-Ibadan South-East 1) and Gbenga Oyekola (LP-(Atiba) expressed concerns about the funding of the new LCDAs as the existing 33 local government areas were facing challenges of paucity of funds.