The whereabouts of the Ayobo-Ipaja Local Council Development Area (LCDA) chairman, Bola Shobowale, for many days without words of assurance and not handling over the council’s mantle of leadership to the Vice chairman, Ladi Oluwaloni, have continued to generate controversies among staff of the council and members of the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The controversies, which was previously within the council, have been escalated to Lagos State House of Assembly, with the lawmakers raising concern over inability ot its committee to reach the council chairman to ascertain reasons for handling over the council’s fate in the hand of civil servants.
Also, the highest decision making group in the Lagos APC, the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), with the members comprising former governors and deputy governors, have started expressing concerns over the leadership strategy adopted by the council chairman who they have been unable to communicate with after the matter was brought to their attention.
On Friday, The Guild learnt that controversies over her whereabouts and decision not to handover the council leadership to the Vice chairman came to public attention during the week when the GAC members led by a former deputy governor, Femi Pedro, visited the council to inspect projects executive by the administration, and didn’t find the chairman in office and the Oluwaloni, who should have led the visitors to the projects was unable to do so since the council’s fate was not handed to him.
The GAC members, during the visit raised concerns over the crisis rocking the council, describing the strategies adopted by Shobowale, the only female council chairman under the old Alimosho Local Government, as unconstitutional.
In a video exclusively obtained by The Guild, the GAC members, during the visit to the council, were confronted by angry APC members who demanded a probe into the leadership crisis rocking the council.
Before the GAC members visit, our correspondent learnt that the Lagos State House of Assembly committee on Local Government had visited the council for an oversight function but left the council angrily after waiting many hours without seeing the council chairman, who they had communicated their visit to, was not around the Secretariat and couldn’t be reached through telephone.
A source within the council told our correspondent that the lawmakers became infuriated after they learnt that Shobowale never handed over the council affairs to the Vice chairman while going on a leave.
She said: “The lawmakers visited on September 18th, 2024 and were dissatisfied with series of issues that were brought to their attention by party members who have complained many times but their voices couldn’t get to the seat of power in Lagos”.
The source added that leaving the council without any prior notices had been the strategy of Shobowale and when she returns, the chairman doesn’t tender apology over her actions.
“Before now she had gone for about nine months without anyone knowing where she was and couldn’t be reached. And now, she has gone again and we don’t know where she is presently”, She added.
Justifying Shobowale’s absence from office, the council yesterday disclosed that the chairman absent was due to medical reasons.
It said: “The LCDA also wishes to clarify that Chief Mrs. Bola Shobowale has only been out of office for two weeks due to medical reasons, contrary to rumors that she has been absent for six months”.
Faulting the council’s claim, another source with the Secretariat, argued that the statement released by the council’s media team is false and doesn’t represent the true state of the matter.
He added that the chairman has left office before September 18, 2024 and has not set his foot into the council since then.
Investigations reveal that the chairman had previously taken a medical leave lasting over nine months about three years ago without a proper transition, and she has now been on another medical leave for over six weeks.
The Guild learnt that she slumped and was rushed to a private hospital in Lagos where a surgical operation was conducted on her and she had been on admission bed since.
