Deborah Akinyosoye
The House of Representatives has approved a bill seeking to accommodate Lagos State’s 37 Development Area Councils as full-fledged local government areas (LGAs).
If enacted into law, this will increase the total number of LGAs in the state from 20 to 57.
The bill which was among the 42 constitutional amendment bills passed on Wednesday was sponsored by Hon. James
Abiodun Faleke (Ikeja Federal Constituency), Hon. Babajimi Benson (Ikorodu Federal Constituency), and Hon. Enitan
Dolapo Badru (Lagos Island I Federal Constituency), alongside 19 other lawmakers.
The proposed legislation is titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Accommodate the Thirty-Seven (37) Development Area Councils of Lagos State as Full-Fledged Local Government Areas, Increasing the Total Number of Local Government Areas in the Federation to Eight Hundred and Eleven (811), and for Related Matters (HB. 1498)”
It scaled second reading on Wednesday during plenary presided over by deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu.
If passed into law also, it will bring the total number of local governments in Nigeria to 811 from 774
It will also allow Lagos to officially have the highest number of local governments in Nigeria, surpassing Kano and Katsina states, which currently have 44 and 34 LGAs, respectively.