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Lagos Local Government Service Commission underfunded – Chairman

The Chairman, Lagos State Local Government Service Commission,  Alhaji Babatunde Rotinwa, on Wednesday appealed to the state government for more funding to enable it to actualise its mandate.

Rotinwa spoke at Stakeholders’ Meeting on “A Bill for a Law to Repeal and Re-enact the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission Law, 2015 and for Connected Purposes”.

TBI Africa reports that the public hearing was organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly’s five-man Ad-hoc Committee headed by Mr Kazeem Raheem, representing Ibeji-Lekki Constituency II.

Rotinwa, in his contribution, said: “I must respectfully inform this House that, a lot of time, we go a begging with the local government. This is because funds that are made available to the Local Government Service Commission are grossly inadequate.

“We are now recommending that while the state government pays the salaries of staff within the commission, other charges of the commission and the monthly running cost should be funded directly from the subvention given to the local government from the federal purse,” he said.

According to him, the commission has staff strength of more than 20,000. On the tenure of office for the members of the commission, Rotinwa suggested five years instead of four years, to bring it in line with the civil service commission and other commissions in the state.

The chairman, who also called for severance allowance at the end of the term of members of the commission, said local government administration remained central to people.

Another stakeholder, Mr Sadisu Jimoh, the Chairman, Ijede Local Council Development Area, said the bill, if it scaled through, would strengthen governance at the grassroot.

Also speaking, Mr Oladiran Ajetunmobi from Magodo area of the state, who also commended the bill, suggested increase in the composition of the commission’s membership from four to six.

Mr Sogo Osinkoya, Council Manager, Egbe Idimu, LCDA, on his part, called for local government autonomy. “The local government system needs to be strengthened and enhanced through autonomous operations without any contention. It must be severed from the apronstring of the other tiers of government,’’ he said.

In his address, the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Wasiu Eshinokun-Sanni, said the bill was another reform to strengthen grassroots governance.

“The Local Government Service Commission is very important. It is for the benefit of local government and its officers. We must not toy with this level of government. We cannot endanger the careers of officers here by the inconsistency in the existing laws. We initiated this bill because of the current realities and persuasions,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, the Majority Leader, in his overview said that the bill seeks to repeal the extant law relating to Local Government Service Commission as contained in two different laws.

“There are six provisions (Section 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47) in part five of the Local Government Administration Law, 2015 that will be repealed, which talks about local government service commission.

“Fifteen (15) sections of the Local Government Service Commission, Law, 1986 will also be repealed, and in their place, we are having 27 sections in the new bill. This is one of the private member bills in the Assembly. There is need for us to bring these separate provisions together and harmonise them in conformity with the present realities,’’ he said.

Agunbiade said the commission shall comprise of a Chairman and four other members of unquestionable integrity, appointed by the governor from each of the five divisions of the state.

Earlier, Raheem said if the local government administration is not well managed, there can be problem in governance. He said all contributions would be factored into the bill.

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