Why we delay assets sharing of Ogun LGAs and LCDAs -Commissioner

The Ogun state government on Thursday said that lack of requisite personnel was delaying the assets sharing of the state’s 20 local government areas and new 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Jide Ojuko, disclosed this in Abeokuta at the sidelines of an interactive session for the newly elected chairmen, Secretaries to the Local Governments and Heads of Local Government Administration.

The state government had created 37 LCDAs out of the existing 20 local governments to bring governance closer to the people but yet to share their critical assets since council elections in October 2016.

But speaking with reporters, Ojuko said the report of the government’s assets sharing committee had been concluded and submitted about two months ago.

The commissioner noted that the non-implementation of the report was due to the lack of personnel to assist in the effective running of the councils.

He, however, expressed optimism that all the problems facing the councils, especially the LCDAs, would soon be sorted.

He said, “The Assets Sharing Committee has submitted its report. We cannot implement because the personnel who will take over the assets are not in place.

“With what is happening today, conveniently anytime from now, implementation will take place and the assets would be handed over to all of them.

“What is important is that we have created these local governments, they have come to stay. They were created and elections have been conducted and now we have elected officers in all our local governments and LCDAs. This is a good foundation and I believe we shall succeed.”

The commissioner explained that the interactive session was held to prepare the elected and appointed officers for the herculean tasks ahead.

He charged the council administrators to be creative in generating internal revenue towards improving the socio-economic development of their respective domains.

Earlier in his remarks, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Suraj Adekunbi, said it was timely to address various administrative challenges confronting the proper take-off of the local council management.

Adekunbi, who declared the session open, explained that the idea behind the creation of additional councils was to bring governance closer to the grassroots and offer better access to the dividends of democracy.

“The Ogun State House of Assembly, where I am privileged to be Speaker, will continue to back you with enabling legislation to ensure the smooth running of the councils for optimal result,” he added.