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LCDAs Have Come To Stay, Lagos Speaker says

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…as Assembly holds public hearing on proposed local govt lawThe Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has said there are no plans to scrap the 37 Local Government Development Areas (LCDAs) of the state.Dr. Obasa, represented by Deputy Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, said this at a second public hearing on the bill to amend the Local Government Administration law of the state on Thursday.”We are gathered here to consider and reflect on a bill that seeks to further enhance how our third tier of government should be administered.”The LCDAs have come to stay and they would remain so by the special grace of God. Nobody is killing the LCDAs. Instead, we have come to say here is the Supreme Court judgement; how do we go about it? I know we all have the interest of this state at heart.”Did we follow the right part in creating the LCDAs? The answer is ‘yes’. So at this point, it is a call for every Lagosian to rise up and protect the LCDAs by reaching out to all our representatives at the national level.”Our representatives and senators should lobby their colleagues there. We will continue to do our part and we are doing it to ensure that the 37 LCDAs are listed in the constitution,” the Speaker said.He recalled that just about two weeks ago, people were also gathered to deliberate on the electoral bill for the Local government election which he said is the first right step before the House could go into how the local governments should function.”This Bill has passed the preliminary stages and the House is hereby subjecting it to public appraisal in our transparent convention. At this stage, we subject the bill to public assessment, gathering public observations and thoughts to reflect on them in the next stage of the bill.”The bill is seeking to consolidate all laws on local government administration. The law, when passed, will allow the local governments function optimally with strict adherence to the rule of law and separation of powers,” he added.The Speaker stressed that the bill also made mention of four-year tenure for the elective offices in the local government, which, according to him, has finally removed the ambiguity of the past as regards tenure of these elective officers. The bill, he said, has elaborated all that needs to be done for an effective administration of the local governments including declaration of assets, nomination of a chairman, removal of a chairman or vice chairman, discharge of functions of the chairman, local government area supervisors appointees, executive powers of the local government, street naming and many more.Section 4(3) of the Bill states: “The 20 local governments shall have designated local council Development Areas as listed in the First Schedule to this law for effective and efficient local government administration in the State.Section 4(1) of the Bill further states: “There shall be 37 Local Council Development Areas in the State with the names specified in Schedule II of the Creation of local government (Amendments) of 2004.”Speaking after an overview by Hon. Noheem Adams, Majority Leader of the House, Lagos-based lawyer, Muiz Banire (SAN) identified some clauses in the Bill that needed further inputs.Banire argued: “The import of the Supreme Court judgement is simple. The State Governor does not have the power over council chairmen, if any council chairman misbehaves, it is the councillors that can decide on what to do.”He also advised that section 38 of the Bill should be expunged, noting “It is no longer legal for the Ministry of Local Government to be issuing guidelines for local governments.”However, Banire was countered by former Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Kolawole Taiwo, who said: “The constitution gives power to the State House of Assembly to create local government, the law has been tested, our LCDAs have been in existence but only not listed.”Nobody can say the law is not in existence, I was the Majority Leader as at then. You are saying the House should not have the power to do some things again; we need to be very careful. We know some governors are making nonsense of the local governments but Lagos is an exemption.”Corroborating the position of Taiwo, another former Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Funmilayo Tejuoso said: “When you have a child that does not have a name, does it mean that the child is dead? It simply means that the LCDAs are still existing. The Supreme Court has recognised them, we are only waiting for the constitution to reflect the LCDAs.”She therefore stated that the LCDAs should continue to exist, noting “We shouldn’t throw away the baby with the bath water.”Also speaking, Imam Ibrahim Tijani from Itire-Ikate said he supported the continued existence of the LCDAs.A stakeholder, Ajose Agbejoye, suggested that elections into local government councils should start six months before the expiration of the four-year term of a current administration so that electoral issues would have been settled before the swearing-in of a new chairman.President of Greater Lagos Initiative, Adeniyi Olutimehin also appealed to the House to allow the LCDAs to continue to function irrespective of whatever amendments it makes to the Bill.Eromosele Ebhomele Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

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Governor AbdulRazaq inspects ongoing Kwara’s Indoor Sports Hall project

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Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq visited the Kwara Stadium Complex to evaluate the progress of the ongoing revival of the indoor sports hall.The rehabilitation and upgrade of the indoor sports complex began a few months ago after the Governor’s administration approved the project. The facility, which was last upgraded in 1991, is undergoing significant renovations awarded to Messr Disscom Ltd.Once completed, the indoor sports hall will join a number of other previously dilapidated sports facilities that Governor Abdulrazaq’s administration has successfully rehabilitated in the past five years. Additionally, the administration has completed the construction of a modern table tennis hall and a squash court complex. Notably, the squash court complex is highly regarded in Nigeria and West Africa for hosting the highest number of modern squash courts in one location.

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Ekiti Governor Honours Primate Ayodele’s Late Father, Names Street After Him

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The governor of Ekiti state, Biodun Oyebanji has honoured the Primate Elijah Ayodele’s late father by naming a street after him in Ikere-Ekiti.The street which used to be ‘Area One’ where the prophet’s church in Ekiti is located has now been registered as Ayomate Avenue.According to reports, the renaming took the combined efforts of the Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, Oba Samuel Alagbado, his chiefs, the local government chairmen, and ultimately, the governor of Ekiti state, Biodun Oyebanji.According to the governor, the street was named in recognition of the good works done by the late father of Primate Ayodele and the continuation of the good works by the prophet. He also recognized the efforts of the prophet to drive economic growth in the community.Primate Ayodele embraced the development while expressing appreciation to the governor for honouring God in such a manner. The prophet applauded the governor for his efforts towards bringing development to Ikere-Ekiti and promised that the presence of his church will in turn lead to more economic development in the local government.Furthermore, Primate Ayodele promised that he would begin by sinking boreholes across the local government to support the government in solving the water crisis.‘’I appreciate the governor for the magnanimous development of naming this vicinity after our church, it’s indeed marvellous in God’s sight. This is a testament to his love for God and the people of Ekiti state.”“I also want to appreciate him for the development he started in Ikere-Ekiti local government, the people are happy with him and above all, God is happy with him for all he is doing”“I want to promise His Excellency that our presence here will bring a new dawn to this vicinity, we will also assist the government. We will be sinking boreholes across the local government to solve the water crisis.’’History has it that Primate Ayodele’s father was one of the most respected individuals in Ikere-Ekiti who brought good tidings to the community and provided succour for individuals who needed help.Consequently, Primate Ayodele has been engaging in humanitarian activities on a large scale across the country. Since he opened a branch in Ikere-Ekiti, Primate Ayodele has organized charitable programmes thrice which involved selling a bag of rice for N20,000, scholarships for youths, empowerment for widows, to mention but a few.

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BREAKING: Gov Abdulrazaq approves bonus for Kwara workers to ease economic burden

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Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has approved a financial bonus that is equivalent to the monthly PAYE obligation for every civil servant in the state, including local government workers.

The emergency support measure will last for at least three months, according to a statement by the Commissioner for Finance Dr. Hauwa Nuru.

“This bonus has been approved as a buffer to bridge the gap that the correct PAYE deduction may have wrought on the newly implemented mininum wage. It is meant to serve as a soothing balm as workers adjust to the PAYE that was just correctly implemented in line with the Personal Income Tax Act,” she said.

“The payment of the bonus is effective from October and will run till December 2024. This is a significant step by His Excellency to support workers.”

The statement added that workers who have not registered with the Kwara State Residents’ Registration Agency (KWSRRA) should do so immediately because anyone without it will not get the bonus for November and December.

The statement said labour unions have also agreed to a refund of the special levy deducted from workers’ salary and suspension of deductions of same until further notice.

“Governor AbdulRazaq’s directive to deliver this relief speaks volumes about his humanity and his commitment to the welfare of Kwara workforce,” Dr. Nuru stated.

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