The House of Representatives has successfully passed a bill in its second reading aimed at elevating the 37 Development Area Councils of Lagos State to full-fledged Local Government Areas.

If the bill advances through the legislative process, Lagos State will now have by law, 57 Local Councils, up from 20 while the total number of LGAs nationwide will rise to 811.

The private member’s bill was sponsored by Abiodun Faleke, the representative for Ikeja Federal Constituency, alongside 21 other lawmakers.

The proposal seeks an amendment to the Constitution, enabling the 37 councils in Lagos State to be officially recognized as Local Government Areas. This change would bring the total number of LGAs in Lagos to 57 and the national total to 811.

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In its third clause, the bill calls for an amendment to the First Schedule, Section 3, Part 1, Item 24, which currently lists Lagos State’s Local Government Areas.

The proposal also introduces new names for several areas, expanding the list to include more regions like Agege, Orile-Agege, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, and Apapa-Iganmu, among others.

The fourth clause outlines additional proposed changes to the First Schedule, providing an extensive list of the newly designated LGAs in Lagos, such as Ikeja, Agbado, Oke-Odo, and Ikorodu, alongside other newly defined areas.

The explanatory memorandum clarifies that the goal of the bill is to ensure the 37 Development Area Councils are officially recognized and granted the status of Local Government Areas under the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

Crediblenewsng.com