The Social Democratic Party in Ondo State strongly condemns the government's decision to withhold information about the proposed 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), including the names of their headquarters and other details, from the general public.
Let it be clear that we applaud the government's efforts to bring the government closer to the good people of Ondo State by establishing 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). If passed into law by the State House of Assembly, it would bring our local governments to 51 as the proposed 33 LCDAs are expected to share equal power and function with the existing 18 council areas once it becomes law and fully implemented.
We recall that an 11-man committee, fully funded and financed by the Ondo tax payers, was set up by Arakunrin Akeredolu in 2019 with the task of figuring out the specifics for the creation of the new LCDAs.
However, we are disappointed that the administration chose to treat the committee’s recommendations as a secret document.
This is an insult to the good people of Ondo State, whose money was used to fund the committee.
More unfortunately, the government’s announcement of the new LCDAs without revealing their headquarters or other vital information demonstrates how irresponsible and uncharitable this government is.
It is obvious that the APC-led administration in Ondo State’s attempts to imitate and match the feat of their Lagos mentor, who established 37 LCDAs years ago, have only succeeded in giving us a very poor imitation, subpar mimic and a bland parody of what was accomplished in Lagos.
May we remind the Alagbaka occupants that when the then-Gov. Bola Tinubu decided to establish the LCDAs in 2001, a committee was set up, a referendum was carefully conducted, and the people of Lagos were diligently carried along. Up untill June 18, 2022, when 30 lawmakers voted in favour of the LCDAs, everyone was aware of the State House of Assembly’s deliberations.
The public was also given access to the names and the funding plan for the LCDAs
Why is it now difficult for our government to replicate this in Ondo State? Why is it so challenging for them to explain to the good people of Ondo State how they arrived at the 33 LCDAs? Have they even considered how the 33 LCDAs would be funded? The only thing that can be inferred from the statement and body language of the government’s spokeswoman while briefing the journalists was that this government is more focused on achieving political objectives with the creation of the LCDAs than it is on bringing the government closer to the grassroots. By withholding the proposed headquarters and names of the LCDAs from the general public before submitting it to the House of Assembly for enactment, they give room to unconscionable, desperate and invidious politicians to manipulate and reshape the proposed LCDA headquarters to suit their political whims and caprices.
Another area of concern is that we currently have 18 LGAs, but their leadership is powerless and dependent on the state government. The situation of the existing LGAs is pathetic enough.
In a clime, where the state government continues to milk the resources meant for the existing 18 LGAs, where their leadership are toothless and are at the mercy of the State government, no government would be closer to the people if the trends continue and if local governments are not allowed to operate freely.
What will now happen to the newly proposed 33 LCDAs if the government is already notorious for starving the current 18 LGs of the funds they constitutionally deserve? Obviously, theirs could be worse. Without genuine autonomy for the local governments, the end outcome will be the same even if LCDA is created per street.
On that note, we demand that the State Government to make the headquarters and the names of the proposed 33 LCDAs available to the general public immediately.
We also call on the State Government to remove the secrecy shrouded around the funds accrue to the existing 18 LGAs or what the funds are used for
It is unfortunate that LGAs budgets continue to be treated as secret documents and are not open for scrutiny in our dear state.
All the Local Government Areas in Ondo State are signatories to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and it is high time that the government upheld the IPSAS requirements for encouraging citizenry participation and public engagement in local council budgeting process.
Finally, we urge every stakeholder in Ondo State to prevail on the APC-led government in the State to treat the establishment of LCDAs with the seriousness, sincerity and transparency it requires because taking an ostrich approach to this sensitive matter could result in complications down the road that may be beyond our capacity to manage.
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Hon. Stephen Adewale
Ondo State Chairman
Social Democratic Party (SDP)
