The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill for a second reading that seeks to officially recognize the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Lagos State as full-fledged Local Government Areas (LGAs).
If successful, the proposal will increase the number of Local Governments in Lagos from the current 20 to 57, bringing the total number of LGAs in Nigeria from 774 to 811.
The 37 Lagos LCDAs were originally created by then-Governor Bola Tinubu between 1999 and 2007. The creation of these councils, however, led to a tense standoff with the federal government under President Olusegun Obasanjo, who responded by withholding Lagos State’s federal allocations.
The bill, which aims to alter the Nigerian Constitution to accommodate the LCDAs as full-fledged LGAs, was jointly sponsored by Abiodun Faleke, the member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in Lagos, and 21 other lawmakers.
The bill proposes to amend the Constitution to allow for the 37 Development Area Councils to operate as full-fledged LGAs in Lagos, bringing the total number of LGAs in the state to 57. This, in turn, would increase the national total of LGAs from 774 to 811.
The proposed changes are outlined in the bill, including alterations to the First Schedule, Section 3, Part 1, Item 24, which currently lists Lagos State’s LGAs. If the bill passes, the revised list will include the new councils under their full LGA status, such as Ikeja, Alimosho, Amuwo-Odofin, Apapa, Oshodi-Isolo, and others.
The bill has stirred conversations across the country, as it would not only expand Lagos’ local government framework but also impact national governance structures. The proposal, which will now undergo further scrutiny in the House, is a key move toward restructuring the local government landscape in one of Nigeria’s most populous states.
