Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has constituted a 14-man committee on the creation of Local Government Council Development Areas, LCDA, in the state, saying the decision was in reaction to Kwara people’s demand for more local government areas in the state.
The governor pointed out that despite the rise in the state’s population, extensive land mass and other demographic features, some local government councils like Asa, Moro and Ifelodun created in 1976 have remained unchanged while several others have been created out of the others.
The governor described the LCDA as a viable alternative to local government creation owing to the “stringent and time consuming constitutional process required for the creation of new local government councils.”
Governor Ahmed gave the terms of reference of the 14-member committee to include: identification of all basic parameters contingent to the creation of Local Government Council Development Areas, using variables peculiar to the Kwara environment while borrowing relevant experiences from other states that have similar structure; considering all factors related to viability (Internally Generated Revenue, population, Land Area etc) in suggesting areas for LCDA status; and identification of suitable communities as headquarters taking due cognizance of precedence in administrative responsibility in arriving at the choice.
Other areas they should focus on include: consideration of other relevant factors that would ensure uniformity, equity, fairness and greater sense of belonging; assessment of the possibility of converting existing districts into Development Area Councils with little adjustment where necessary and review of the reports of similar exercises carried out in the past and any considerations the committee finds pertinent.
Responding, the Chairman of the Committee, Abubakar Kawu Baraje, promised that the committee would religiously abide by the terms of reference handed to it by the state government, adding that it would carry out interactions with stakeholders, traditional institutions, various development associations.
Baraje further assured that all loopholes would be looked into to make his committee’s recommendations generally acceptable to the government and people of Kwara State.
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