IBRAHIM QUADRI
Barely three months to the council poll in Lagos State, the State House of Assembly on Tuesday suspended three council chairmen over alleged disregard for the guidelines governing their activities.
Lagos council poll is scheduled to commence in July, 2021.
The House said it could no longer continue to watch while the council chairmen stubbornly flout the state’s local government guidelines.
The affected chairmen included Hon. Ogidan Mukandasi Olaitan of Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Suleiman Jelili of Alimosho Local Government area and Tajudeen Ajide of Surulere Local Government area.
The suspension was unanimously approved by members of the House in a voice vote with no opposition shortly after Hon. Bisi Yusuff (Alimosho 1) raised a complaint against chairman of Lekki council boss, Olaitan.
Yusuff who is the chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Industry narrated to his colleagues how Olaitan had been allegedly unruly and had disregard for the Assembly.
He complained that Olaitan accused the lawmakers of carrying out an oversight function on a memorandum of understanding in relation to an issue that arose from a resettlement programme in Lekki.
He further said that the council chairman had total disregard for those in his domain who he was elected to govern.
According to him, his action, even as a lawyer, was an insult to true governance and respect for the authority.
Commenting, Hon. Fatai Mojeed (Ibeju-Lekki 1), mentioned the chairman of Alimosho LG, Jelili and that of Surulere, Ajide, saying they both questioned the rationale for investigating them.
Hon Mojeed therefore urged his colleagues to suspend the chairmen pending the outcome of the investigations on the allegations made against them to serve as deterrent to others.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, while speaking on the issue, noted that the House had received petitions from many councillors in the affected councils in the state against some serving LG chairmen.
Obasa said that the House could not continue to watch while council chairmen flout the laws they were supposed to uphold.
“Total disregard for local government guidelines is something that should not be tolerated.
“We cannot continue like this. We can’t be breeding monsters in our local government councils,” Obasa said.
The Speaker added that it would not be ideal to gloss over the issues as it would be creating a precedent of disobedience to the law by council chairmen especially at a time the state was planning elections into the councils.
“We have received many petitions from councillors against many chairmen, this is the time to take action,” Obasa stated.
The Speaker therefore directed the Clerk of the House, Barrister Olalekan Onafeko to write to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and others stakeholders about the decision of the House.
