Aregbesola Seeks Assembly’s Approval To Create 27 Councils

Staff December 17, 2013

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola is seeking the House of Assembly’s approval to create 27 local council development areas (LCDAs).
Presenting an executive bill for the creation of the councils to the Assembly yesterday, Aregbesola said more councils would accelerate development across the state.
He said the bill was to re-engineer the local government system to serve as a pace setter for other states.
The governor said he earlier set up a committee, headed by the former Speaker of the House, Mojeed Alabi, a Professor of Political Science, on the creation of more councils in line with Sections 7 and 8 of the 1999 Constitution.
He said the committee recommended the 27 councils to be created.
Aregbesola urged the House to give the bill positive consideration, adding that the new councils would operate a parliamentary system of government to avoid financial constraints.
The bill also seeks the Assembly’s approval for the creation of the office of council managers for the proposed councils.
Aregbesola said the council managers would be civil servants in the employment of the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) from Grade Level 14 and above. The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, said the House would give special consideration to the bill.
The State Chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Alhaji Abdulhamid Hammed, in a statement, said more councils would bring development closer to the grassroots.
Hammed said: “We have seen what is happening in Lagos State. Lagosians are better for the creation of LCDAs by our great leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. What Aregbesola did today (yesterday) is good.”
He pledged to mobilise the people of his constituency to support the bill.
Youth Leader of the defunct CPC Majeed Yahaya said: “The creation of LCDAs will add value to the life of our people as it did to Lagosians. This is the beginning of a new dawn in our state.”
Secretary of the defunct CPC Garuba Hammed said the bill should be supported by everyone.
THE NATION