Kunle Adelabu
-Unseal Works Department
-We are ready to change the narrative, check executive excesses – Council Leader
The Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area in Ikorodu Division, Lagos, Southwest, Nigeria, may be in for an interesting time as the Council legislators are bent on probing the activities of all the departments from January, 2020.
The local lawmakers, who passed resolution to this effect in their plenary sitting of November 19, 2020, proved their seriousness in exercising their legislative power when they sealed the Works Department on Monday, November 23, 2020, when its head failed to present necessary documents requested for by the Councilors.
Though, the office has been unsealed after many interventions by traditional and political leaders and pressure from other quarters, the lawmakers are forging ahead to probe the executive arm.
THE IMPACT gathered that the Adeboruwa of Igbogbo, His Royal Majesty, Oba Semiudeen Kasali, an elder statesman and member of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), Asiwaju Olorunfunmi Basorun and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Dele Olowu, among others had intervened in the face – off between the legislators and the executive arm of the council.
It was gathered that the Council Chairman, Builder Sesan Daini, took the matter to the traditional ruler and the political leaders for intervention and also requested that all the five Councilors should be called to order.
After its sitting on Tuesday (yesterday) when another resolution passed, the Councilors, led by the Sergeant – at – Arm who carried the mace of the House, unsealed the Works Department and re –opened it for operation.
Present at the Tuesday plenary session were Hon. Nurudeen Alimi , the Council Leader who is representing Ward C3, Hon. Olalekan Ashafa, the Deputy Leader representing Ward C1, Hon. Wasiu Olowu, Council Majority Leader representing Ward C2, Hon. Arowolo Mathew, the Chief Whip representing Ward C4 and Monsuru Kolejo, a member representing Ward C5.
Meanwhile, the Council Manager, Treasurer and all the departmental and unit heads are expected to appear before the honourable Councilors starting from this week.
According to the Councilors, the concerned council staff are expected to bring necessary documents regarding their operations for scrutiny.
It was gathered that the executive arm of the council has not been cooperating with the legislative arm of the council regarding the quarterly presentation of relevant documents as required by the Councilors and stated in the Local Government Administrative Guidelines.
Speaking with THE IMPACT, the Council Leader, Hon. Nurudeen Alimi, alleged that attempts by the honourable House to perform its oversight and other functions have always been turned to blackmail.
He added that the Council lawmakers are determined more than before to change that narrative by probing activities of the executive and holding them accountable.
“The Works Department of our local council was sealed on Monday after we reached a resolution in our plenary session because of lack of respect for the rule of law”, the Council Leader said.
“As legislators, we need to act in such a way that would promote growth and development in our LCDA, which means we must respect the rule of law and the entire constituents which we are representing”, he explained.
“At our sitting on 17th and 19th of November, we communicated our resolutions to the Chairman and equally invited the Council Engineer to appear before us and submit all activities of his department from January till date to us.
“Details of our invitation to the Council Engineer requesting for all documents was communicated to the Chairman as well and they were given time to present them before the honourable members of the House.
He said that the Council Engineer appeared before the lawmakers but failed to bring relevant documents because the Council Chairman and Council Manager failed to direct him as stated by the law.
“The Council Engineer appeared before the honourable House but told us that he has not been given directive by the Council Chairman and Council Manager to release necessary documents to us”.
Hon. Alimi stated that the Councilors are acting based on the Section 36 (3) of the Local Government Administrative Guidelines and added that the violation of the said Section by the executive is a discredit to the office of the Chairman.
He added that the exercise is supposed to be quarterly, stating that it was designed to check the excesses of the executive arm.
“Our power to perform oversight was generated from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which granted the State Assembly power to make laws from where we derived our power via the Local Government Administration Guidelines”, he stated.
“In as much as that is in place, we told him (Council Engineer) clearly that he must bring necessary documents before us and avail us relevant information about the activities of the department.
“We are supposed to be doing that on a quarterly basis. If you look at Section 36 (3) of the Administrative Guidelines of 2011, it is categorically stated that the Council Chairman must give instruction to the Council Manager to direct departmental heads to furnish us with relevant documents whenever we requested for them.
“I believe the violation of that section is a minus and discredit to this council”, Hon. Alimi said.
The leader of the Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA Legislative arm, who stated that attempts by the House to make the executive arm avail it relevant documents over the years had been misinterpreted and added that the local legislators are prepared to perform its function.
“Actually, their (executive arm) responses have been very low in terms of responding to our request for necessary documents regarding their departments’ activities over the years.
“Each time we tried to make a little inquiry, it was always twisted and misinterpreted but now, we want to change that narrative”, he alleged.
“We want the executive to know that the legislative arm is an independent arm and it is the same constitution that created both arms and one is not dependent on the other.
“They are to manage the funds but it is our duty to investigate and perform our own oversight functions over how those funds are being managed. This is part of our legislative business”, he said.
“It’s funny that each time we make request for the presentation of certain public documents, somebody thinks that we are after him.
“I have said this at the state level and at the House of Assembly that there is need for the presentation of necessary documents pertaining to the activities of the executive to the honourable House at every quarter as spelt out in the administrative guidelines”.
Hon. Alimi stated that they are taking what he described as bold steps to correct excesses of the executive arm of the Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA.
“The advantage of that is to curb the excesses of the executive arm. The consequence of this is that, we will have a better society as we will be opportuned to give back to the community that gave us the mandate to serve them.
“That is why we are taking these bold steps. Yes, it is a bold step, because each time we made a request, they alleged that we were witch hunting them. Nobody is a witch – hunting anybody”, he said.
“We have taken these bold steps to correct the anomalies and rebuild our council because if not, we will soon be experiencing community decay if we fold our arms and cross our legs as lawmakers in the council.
“We are checking the excesses of the executive and that is what the system is meant to achieve”.
He condemned a situation where large parts of the allocation and generated revenue are being spent on the ongoing construction of a new ultra modern secretariat while infrastructures across the council are neglected, a situation he said has made the constituents unhappy with the elected officers.
“We have spent largely on some of the projects that the council have embarked upon so far, like this edifice that we are building (modern council secretariat) which is uncalled for and also based on the responses that we are getting from the public, we are being alleged of building a convenient office for ourselves rather than serving the people”, he told our reporter.
“That is why we are swinging into action to curb these excesses. We are just starting. We have summoned all the department and unit heads, about 16 of them. We are expecting the head of the Works Department which is the Council Engineer and others in the first batch”.
The Council leader, who said that the Council Chairman, Buider Sesan Daini, is accountable to the honourable Councilors and that he can be summoned at any time to give account of the Council’s activities, told THE IMPACT that the Council Manager, Treasurer, Engineer and others will soon appear before the honorable House with necessary documents that will aid the lawmakers in carrying out their legislative functions.
“Very soon, we are going to be summoning the Council Manager and Treasurer and they are expected to bring necessary documents before us. Those documents belong to the people, and as the representatives of the people, we are accountable to them.
“The Council Chairman is even accountable to us. According to the Administrative Guidelines, we can summon and re – summon him. That is what we are trying to change. They must get it that they are accountable and nobody is above the law”, he said.
Hon. Olalekan Ashafa, the Deputy Leaderwho also spoke with our reporter, deplored a situation where the honourable members carry out their duties under what he described as a very unfriendly environment, especially lack of regular power supply in the Council Secretariat.
The Majority Leader, Hon. Wasiu Olowu,wondered why those in the executive are afraid of releasing necessary documents to the honourable House to enable it perform its duties if they have nothing to hide.
Meanwhile, the Council Chairman, Builder Sesan Daini, is yet to respond to the allegations raised by the Councilors.
Messages sent to his mobile phone via SMS and WhatsApp since yesterday are yet to be responded to.
Also, he did not pick nor return our reporter’s calls as at the time of going to the press.
Residents across the six councils in Ikorodu Division have recently intensified their demand for transparency and accountability in the councils since it surfaced that N4.51billion naira had been allocated to the councils between January and September 2020 with little or nothing to show for it despite that the Council Chairmen have been at the helms of affairs of their respective councils for over three years.
Questions have also been raised on how much these councils are generating internally and how these funds are being managed.
