Irate Lagos Lawmakers Walk Out On Council Chairman

Feb 1, 2012 –There was confusion at the Kosofe Local Government Council secretariat yesterday after members of the Lagos State House of Assembly who visited the council for oversight function staged a walk-out of the premises following what they described as the uncultured attitude of the council chairman, Afolabi Sofola.

The lawmakers, who are mainly members of the House Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs, had visited the council as part of its official tour of the 57 local government areas and local council development areas to assess their premises and the projects so far executed by the chairmen. www.latestnewsinnigeria.com

The lawmakers, led by the Committee Chairman, Moshood Oshun, had reached the Council by 2pm as against the 12 p.m. given to the council officials for their arrival. Their late arrival was as a result of the several hours they spent at the Somolu Local Government Area, where they had to resolve a lot of issues.

Immediately they were ushered into the office of the Kosofe Council Chairman, he raised an objection, saying he was no longer expecting them since the time scheduled for their arrival had expired.

He further told the lawmakers, who asked him to switch on his power generating set, that he had exhausted the fuel meant for the day.

Sensing the embarrassment he had caused the lawmakers and journalists, who at this stage felt confused, he quickly sent one of his aides to go and switch on the generator, but the angry lawmakers walked out of the office before his aide could get the generator on.

Though the lawmakers did not state what sanction Sofola could face, it was learnt that he had been trying to reach out to the lawmakers to apologise for the embarrassment he caused them, but his efforts have not yielded any positive result.

The committee members later visited the Bariga LCDA where they praised the chairman, Akeem Omoyele Sulaimon, for his positive impact at the council and the community as well as his cordial relationship with staff and other political appointees of the council.

They commended him for building a state-of-the-art council secretariat and said his LCDA would be used a yardstick to measure others in due course.

They also urged him as the Chairman of Conference 57, the umbrella body of the council chairmen in the state, to set standards for his colleagues to follow and advised him not to relent in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of the area.

The Committee Chairman, in his speech, said his team was not out to witch-hunt any council chairman, but to praise them where they have done well and reprimand them where they are found to have done poorly.

He said apart from the need to complement the efforts of the state government at developing the state, whatever achievement they make would further boost the image of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

In his reaction, Sulaimon urged the committee to constantly embark on such visits as it would keep the council chairmen on their toes.

Sulaimon disclosed that as part of move by the LCDA to ensure there is a robust legislative arm, the council has almost completed plans to send its councillors to Ghana for training on legislative duties and tasks they are expected to perform.