The Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, on Wednesday assured on the readiness of the state to adhere to all constitutional provisions in the process of creating new local governments areas in the state.
While saying that the state is not out to confront the Federal Government on the issue of Local Government creation, the governor lamented what he believed have been the unfair considerations that had hallmarked the process of creating states and local governments in the past.
This was just as the committee saddled with the creation of more Local Governments in the state of Osun recommended 27 new LGs and 2 Area Offices.
The governor stated this while receiving the report of Osun Local Government Areas Creation Committee at the Governor's Office in Abeere, Osogbo.
Aregbesola noted that the state will do everything possible under the constitution of Nigeria to create Local Governments that will meet all required standards, stating that the basis for the exercise was the genuine desire and consent of the people of Osun.
In his words, "We are simply not ready to confront anybody or the Federal Government, but we are working on the constitution to grant the wishes of our people. Osun will be the first to constitutionally create local governments. We will create councils that will meet all constitutional requirements.
"The difference between what we are seeking to do from others is that, we have not in, any way influenced this. It is the genuine desire of the people for self-government or expression of having control of their own affairs." The governor stated.
Aregbesola held that Nigerians must not be deceived that the structure that they have all over the country were derived from the genuine and consent of the people who are entrapped in various states and local governments in the country.
The governor averred that the creation of local governments according to the amended 1999 Constitution, the creation of LGs is totally in the hands of the states through the State House of Assembly.
According to Aregbesola, "The only mention of LG in our constitution is the nature of the government and not a tier of government. Local governments can never be a unit of the federation outside the state. It is a contradiction that LG is a tier of government in our own federalism."
Earlier in his address, the Chairman, Osun Local Government Areas Creation Committee, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, said the subsequent decisions of the Supreme Court have deepened their current understanding of the Federal-State relationship in Nigeria that justifies the State of Osun taking the struggle father from where Lagos stopped.
The chairman urged the state to prepare a bill for a law of the state House of Assembly to be duly passed and assented to by the governor to empower the state to distribute the funds domiciled in the state Joint Local Government Account among all the LG in the state, including the newly created.
According to Alabi, "The state government of Osun should create Local Government Areas and not Local Government Development Areas in line with the decision of the Supreme Court of Nigeria that such Local Government Areas have come into legal existence once a bill to such effect is passed by the state House of Assembly and assented to by the Governor.
"The State of Osun should activate its legal machinery and strengthen the same in anticipation of the legal battles in order to enforce its right under the constitution, including the possibility of getting the National Assembly to perform its legislative duty of amending the relevant section." The chairman enthused.
Prof. Alabi urged the government of Osun to work tirelessly for the search for viable constitution for the country that will be based on value of true federalism, anchored on the promotion of regional diversity in a united and strong Nigeria.
Osun adara oo
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