Lagos AD wants National Assembly to list new councils
By Idowu Ajanaku
TO douse what it considered as avoidable political tension, the Lagos State chapter of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) yesterday called on the National Assembly to list the new councils created by the State House of Assembly.
The AD regarded the National Assembly's listing of the councils as facilitation of the judgment of the Supreme Court on the matter.
Urging the National Assembly to stand for equity and justice for each and every one in the federation, the party said that acceding to the agitation of Lagos for more 37 councils would redress the imbalance in the number of councils in the country.
According to the party, the old Kano, which has less population than Lagos and today comprises Kano and Jigawa states, has 71 councils as Jigawa has 26 councils and Kano 45.
It said Lagos State needed a lot of funds to maintain and expand infrastructures being tasked by migrants from rural areas and companies, hence the need to create more councils to absorb this pressure and finance them adequately to discharge their responsibilities.
The party also called on the National Assembly to consider the agitation for more local governments as a result of the wind of democracy blowing through the country and the desire of many communities for grassroots governance.
"Our people want to exercise control over resources generated by their communities by being involved in how critical decisions concerning the usage of public funds are taken," a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of Lagos AD, Toyin Caxton-Martins said.
The party also said it was making the appeal in the light of Section 4(2) of the Constitution. The section reads: "The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the federation."
It noted that the Supreme Court had already settled the controversial issues in the matter by declaring that the law setting up the 57 new councils was valid.
