By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
The Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), Oyo State Chapter is asking the state government to reverse its plans to create additional 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
SPN in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan signed by its Oyo state Secretary, Comrade Bamigboye Abiodun, declared that the newly created 35 LCDAs are illegal, unconstitutional and will bring hardship on the people not development
Apparently reacting to this, the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun insisted that the establishment of LCDAs which will operate as development centres will enhance service delivery by the government to the people through easier accessibility to the centre and faster rate of development.
SPN on its part pointed out that “the fact that no referendum was conducted prior to the creation of the 35 LCDAs makes it illegal and unconstitutional thus must be reversed”.
According to the party, instead of creating LCDAs “that will bring hardship on the people, elections must be conducted in the legally and constitutionally recognized thirty three local councils in the state” and that the “administration and finance of the 33 local government councils must also to be subjected to democratic control of residents and workers”.
“SPN sees the newly created LCDA as a plan to consolidate on the rot that has been created in the local government system by successive governments including the Ajimobi-led government in the state in the last 5years Ajimobi-led government like the preceding government in the state has practically castrated local government system in the state both politically and financially. Local government elections that would have offered the people at the grassroots the opportunity to elect their representatives and political office holders like the chairmen and chancellors have been practically prevented by the Senator Ajimobi-led government,”it said.
SPN alleged that instead of putting in place the democratically elected representatives of the people at the head of the local government area in the state, the Senator Ajimobi led government in the state “has been imposing different sets of caretaker chairmen across the legal and constitutional 33 local government areas in the state”, adding that “the continue imposition of caretaker chairmen by the Ajimobi/APC-led government is an absolute breach of the necessary provision of the constitution which stipulates that the system of local government must be governed by chairmen and chancellors who must be democratically elected by the people”.
“It must be noted that the creation of the 35 local governments based on advice of the State House of Assembly as claimed by Mr Gbade Ojo while briefing journalists in Ibadan on Tuesday, 23rd August, 2016, does not make the LCDAs legal and constitutional. What the constitution stipulates is that a democratic and genuine referendum must be conducted such that two thirds of people in the area the local councils are to be created must vote for this. The fact that no referendum was conducted prior to the creation of the 35 LCDA makes it illegal and unconstitutional thus must be reversed!”
It stressed in the statement that “in view of the foregoing, the SPN insists that the motive behind the creation of the additional 35 LCDA, making a total of an unwieldy 68 local government administration structures in the state, is far from desire to bring about effective grassroots development as claimed by Mr Gbade Ojo, the Chief of Staff to Governor Abiola Ajimobi”.
“There is no way the creation of additional 35 LCDA will bring about effective development to the people especially by a government that governs a state where most public institutions are in deplorable condition, workers and retirees are owed backlogs of salaries and pension. No thanks to government claims of paucity of fund and cash trapped syndrome. It is in our opinion that the creation of the additional 35 LCDA will only mean that more economic hardship will be imposed on the working but suffering masses”.
SPN added “take for instance, the newly created LCDA will require some political office holders to be appointed. This will mean that the already meager resources of the local councils will now be wasted on burgeoning political class that will be created under the current arrangement while attempt to generate fund to run the newly created LCDA will also be made by imposing outrageous tax regime on the poor. This will mean more money going to the pockets of the political class, while the working people will be further squeezed. adding,“the
Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, Oyo State Chapter considers the recent creation of additional 35 local government called Local government development areas LCDA by the Gov Ajimobi led government as unnecessary and misplacement of priority”.
Featuring on a live program on AIT Ibadan, Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun said “the establishment of LCDAs will not only improve public service delivery management in the state. It would indeed fast-track, expand and accelerate equitable and spatial development in the state”.
While emphasizing that the establishment of LCDAs was a response to the yearnings of the people of Oyo State through their representatives in the House of Assembly, he noted that “to ignore the voice of the people is to deny them of their desires. This government will not do that as it would be tantamount to being anti-people.”
Reiterating the readiness of the Governor Ajimobi led administration to fast tracking and even spread of development, through the implementation of the Further Amendment of Local Government Bill 2002 as contained in the Oyo State Gazette Number 23 Volume 27 dated 13th August 2002, Mr Arulogun declared that the creation of LCDAs in the state will give those who have been on the periphery the opportunity of being close to a development centre thereby promoting a stronger sense of belonging.
The Commissioner also hinted that the existing staff would be redistributed and redeployed since the new LCDAs will be carved out of the existing LGAs.
