Inspite of the constitutional provision granted to the council boss to form a government for the grassroots after assuming office, the 57 Lagos Local Government and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) chairmen have continued to run their offices without supervisory councillors, a strategy being condemned by residents.
The chairmen, who assumed office following their swearing in by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, after contesting their elections on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have held the office for over four months without appointing supervisory councillors to oversee key developments in the council.
As they continued to run their affairs alone, residents have expressed dissatisfaction with the decision, alleging that their stance is taking a toll on governance at the grassroots level, considering that the local government is the closest to Lagosians.
The residents expressed their displeasure on Tuesday, barely four months after the council chairmen were sworn in by the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who announced that the appointment would be done after 60 days.
But four months after the council chairmen assumed office on July 27 2025, they were yet to make any appointment, a development which has become a concern to Lagosians who believe the appointments were necessary for grassroots governance.
A resident of Ojo Local Government, Kamoru Ashimiyu, in an interview with The Guild, said: “We do not understand the issue with the All Progressives Congress (APC) when it comes to appointment. I believe that such appointments are not too hard to do.
“There are many passionate experts who are ready to work for the development of the councils, but the party has made the compilation of the supervisory councillors list look like a hard task to carry out. I totally disagree with this. I will urge the party to get its house in order and announce the list. This is part of governance in Lagos”.
As gathered during a visit to some of the councils, the role of the appointees, which was to work with the chairmen, in actualising their campaign promises, was lacking across the state.
Meanwhile, a member of the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who spoke on anonymity, told our correspondent that the supervisory councillors’ lists have been compiled after several internal wranglings among the party members.
He said: “The lists for each council have been compiled after several weeks of internal wranglings among the APC members in Lagos.
“To the best of my knowledge, the lists have been handed over to the Governor for approval. I do not know the reasons for the continuous delay in approval”.
A source from the Governor’s office stated that funding could be part of the reasons for the delay in appointing supervisory councillors.
He added that the delay in the appointment has assisted the chairmen in funding projects within 100 days after assuming office.
According to him, we all understand that these are part of the statutory appointments that must be done by the chairmen. But if they had embarked on the appointment, it would have prevented the chairmen from hitting the ground running after assuming office. And do not forget, these projects benefit the masses.
Reacting to the concerns, the Lagos APC spokesperson, Seye Oladejo, assured the public that the appointments would be announced soon.
Oladejo, in an interview with The Guild on Tuesday, assured Lagosians that the ruling party would often ensure strict adherence to good governance in Lagos.
According to him, the Lagos State Government and the party understand the residents’ zeal to ensure good governance, and we do not take the people’s concerns for granted. The names will be announced soon. I can assure you of that”.
