Lawmaker Flays Calls For LGAs Scrapping

A Lagos lawmaker, Mr. Adelabu Onibiyo, has condemned calls for the scrapping of local governments in the country.

Onibiyo, representing Alimosho 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, said that the councils provided an avenue for the development of every part of the country.

The lawmaker, who is the chairman, ad-hoc committee on local government administration, argued that scrapping the councils could take the country backward in terms of development.

He, however, urged the local councils to take up the challenge of developing their communities to move the nation forward.

Onibiyo told newsmen in Lagos that local governments could do better if they expanded their vision.

“Some local government chairmen are not living up to expectations and could do better with serious enforcement of strict discipline”, he said.

He cited the example of local governments in Lagos which, he said, collected tenement rates and other revenues but had nothing to show for it.

According to him, the Lagos State Government has to take over some of the councils’ roles because of their ineffectiveness.

“There have been some measures of development in the spate of 12 years that the state government took over some of the functions”, Onibiyo said.