The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday commenced a process aimed at amending the state’s Local Government Administration Law to change the tenure of Council Chairmen and Councillors from three years to four.
This is contained in sections 27 (1), 24 (a) and 12 (1) of “A bill to amend Local Government Administration Law of Lagos State and for other connected purposes’’ sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa.
Moving the motion on the floor of the House, Mr Kazeem Alimi, Chairman, House Committee on Local Government, said the tenure should be adjusted in line with that of other representatives at the state level.
Alimi said the proposed amendment sought to guarantee the power of the Assembly to enforce the removal or suspension of any erring council chairman upon petitions from concerned councillors.
He said that it would also ensure that any chairman who had served for two terms would not be eligible to contest any election as the head of local government administration.
In his contribution, the Majority Leader, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, said that the constitution gave State Assembly the power to create local governments.
Agunbiade said that with such power, the House should also have the power to sanction any council chairman that was found wanting.
Mr Bisi Yusuff, Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts (Local), commended the courage of the Speaker in coming up with the new bill.
Yusuff said that previous efforts at amending the law had proved abortive.
In her contribution, Mrs Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Petitions and Human Rights, said it was crucial for the House to monitor activities of councils after creating them.
The Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Wahab Jimoh, however, cautioned his colleagues over a section of the proposed amendment that empowered the House to remove or suspend defaulting council chairmen.
Jimoh argued that the House should not make councillors handicapped.
Supporting Jimoh’s argument, Mr Olanrewaju Layode, Chairman, House Committee on Housing, said section 24 (a) of the bill should be better explained in order not to “ hamstring the legislature at the local level”.
The Speaker, Obasa, however, said there was no attempt to take over the power of councillors but there was a need to enforce the resolutions of the House.
“We have passed resolutions for the removal of two or three council chairmen in the past but the governor did not comply with them.
“With this new amendment, we as a House will be able to go ahead to remove any erring elected official of a council,” Obasa said.
The House committed the bill to its Committee on Local Government and Community Affairs and mandated it to report back to the Assembly on April 18.
