The Lagos State House of Assembly has suspended the Chairman, Alimosho Local Government Area, Mr. Sulaimon Jelili, indefinitely over alleged non-compliance and unyielding attitude to the legislature.
At plenary on Monday, the House made the resolution through an unanimous voice votes that the Vice Chairman of the council, Mr. Akinpelu Johnson, should take over running the affairs of the council.
The assembly further instructed the management of the council, including the manager and treasurer, to recognise the authority of the vice chairman and accord him all the support to make him work effectively.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in April 2024, pandemonium broke out in the Iyana-Ipaja axis of Alimosho Local Government leading to the death of one Mr. Micheal Ajayi.
The Chairman, House Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Sanni Okanlawon, who investigated the cause of the pandemonium, moved the motion for the suspension.
According to Okanlawon, all stakeholders involved in the issue were invited, but Jelili allegedly continued to show acts of misconduct to the committee of the House.
Okanlawon alleged Jelili failed to adhere to the assembly’s directives and his mismanagement of public funds.
The committee chairman, therefore, called for Jelili’s immediate suspension in line with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“He should be suspended immediately while the vice chairman, takes over with immediate effect,” he prayed.
The Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Noheem Adams, while supporting the call for Jelili’s suspension, added that the action would make other local government chairmen sit well.
“The Alimosho council chairman does not follow procurement processes in the budget.
There has been a lot of misconducts from him and I support that the chairman be suspended indefinitely,” he said.
In his contribution Mr. Nureni Akinsanya, Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts for Local Government, referred to the report submitted by the State Auditor-General concerning the activities of Jelili.
Akinsanya said the report allegedly underscored the council chairman’s consistent non-compliance with financial regulations, with significant irregularities in his records.
He thereafter emphasised these discrepancies, supporting Okanlawon’s call for Jelili’s suspension.
Similarly, Mr. Ladi Ajomale expressed surprise that the council chairman had been recalcitrant despite previous reports detailing his alleged financial mismanagement.
Mr. Sa’ad Olumoh also prayed the House to invite Mr. Kolade Alabi and Mr Rasak Ajala, chairmen of Bariga LCDA and Odi Olowo LCDA respectively, as heads of the Conference 57, to explain the widespread disregard by council chairmen for governance protocols.
The Speaker, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the sitting, directed the Clerk of the House, Mr Olalekan Onafeko, to communicate the assembly’s resolution to all relevant authorities. (NAN)
In response, an advocacy group, the Lagos People’s Assembly, on Monday called on the Lagos State House of Assembly not to take any action capable of undermining local government autonomy.
The group, in a peaceful protest to the Lagos Assembly ,said that the practice of lawmakers querying and sanctioning Local Government administrators was in total contradiction to council autonomy.
The protesters, who chanted some songs, carried placards with various inscriptions urging respect for autonomy of local governments.
Some of the inscriptions included: “Don’t undermine LG autonomy”, “The Supreme Court Verdict is Supreme”, “Respect Supreme Court Ruling”, “LAHA, Respect Local Government Autonomy”, “Obasa, Let the Local Government Breath” among others.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Mr Kola Emmanuel, said that the Lagos Assembly should not in anyway legislate on matters under the jurisdiction of councils’ legislative arms.
Emmanuel, the Deputy Speaker of the group, said that President Bola Tinubu had done well to pursue autonomy for local government, saying Lagos Assembly should not be seen to be working on the contrary.
He said: “We want to equally believe that Lagos State House of Assembly will never want the National Assembly to take over their responsibility as legislators.
“If the Supreme Court has deemed it fit to grant autonomy to every local government, we see no reason why the Lagos State House of Assembly will want to contradict what the Supreme Court has said.
“We are saying no to any step to usurp the role of councillors in firing council chairmen, managing and auditing revenues in each council.”
Emmanuel said that the Lagos Assembly was putting itself into playing the role of councillors in some local governments, adding that, it was unjust to do so.
“We are saying that the laws of the land must be obeyed. You cannot be the state lawmakers and the councillors of each local government at the same time.
”It is not possible. We will not allow that,” he said
According to him, the group will not allow the National Assembly to take over the responsibilities of the state lawmakers the same way it will not allow the Lagos Assembly to take over the responsibilities of councillors.
Also speaking, Mr Shina Loremikan, the National Coordinator, Campaign Against Impunity, said that since the Supreme Court had granted autonomy to local government, the Lagos Assembly should adhere in letter and spirit.
“But for the State House of Assembly to sit and be giving query to a local government contradicts the position of the Supreme Court.
“Likewise, the National Assembly cannot sanction a governor or a speaker of the State House of Assembly because they are independent,” Loremikan said.
The rights activist said that some local government chairmen were already under the Lagos Assembly’s watch for sanctioning..
According to him, any information about wrongdoing of any local government chairman should be sent to the legislative arm of the local government for appropriate actions.
“Let them sanction their boss. The position of local government chairman is an elected position.
“If there is anything that the chairman of the local government has done that is wrong, the people must know,” he said. (NAN)
Adekunle Williams
