‘It Is Simply Laughable’ -Opposition Political Parties Kick Against Creation Of 33 News LCDAs In Ondo

Opposition political parties in Ondo State have kicked against the creation of 33 new local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state.

Naija News reported on Sunday that the Ondo State Government proposed the creation of 33 new Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.

It was gathered that the State Executive Council approved the creation of the LCDAs, and the bill was sent to the State House of Assembly for enactment.

The Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, disclosed this during a press briefing in Akure, the state capital, over the weekend.

Ademola-Olateju stated that if the proposal gets approval by the legislature, the local councils will increase to 51 from 18 statutory local councils.

He said the government has already taken the necessary steps, as the enabling law for establishing the new LCDAs was forwarded to the state House of Assembly for enactment.

The government, controlled by the All Progressives Congres (APC), said creating new councils is to extend governance to local communities.

However, some opposition political parties in the state have described the development as laughable, querying how the state intends to fund it.

The chapters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state have said the plan is a mere diversionary move.

In separate statements sighted by the Premium Times, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have said the plan is to score cheap political points.

The chairperson of the SDP in the state, Stephen Adewale, said the move was for the government to score cheap political goals.

He noted that “Ordinarily, one should be pleased with the government’s efforts to bring government closer to the good people of Ondo State with the introduction of 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA).

“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 the same equal power and function with the existing 18 council areas once it becomes law and fully implemented.

“However, 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.”

Similarly, the PDP said the move was unnecessary and ill-advised.

The spokesman for the PDP in the state, Kennedy Peretei, remarked that “The State Government has not made public the details of the 33 newly created LCDAs, but even at that, the move as far as l am concerned is ill-advised,  

“How can you create new LCDAs when the existing 18 LGAs have not been efficiently run?

“When salaries are being owed. Have they factored the new personnel burden it will add to an already comatose Ondo State economy?

“When responsive state governments are reeling out palliatives to cushion the hardship induced by the Tinubu-led APC government, somebody is talking about creating LCDAs that they don’t have the funds to operate; it is simply laughable.

“What is more, more that 48 hours after the announcement, nobody knows the identities, nomenclature, or locations of the LCDAs. It is a sign of a confused government.”