The Chairmen of the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) chairmen in the state have vacated their offices and handed over to their respective Council Managers, Daily Independent reliably gathered on Tuesday.
This development is coming on the heels of a directive from the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, ordering all the 57 council chairmen to vacate their offices following the expiration of their mandatory three-year tenure.
Fashola had in a statement issued on Monday night directed the council chairmen to vacate their offices following the expiration of their three-year statutory tenure on Tuesday October 28, 2014.
According to the statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Aderemi Ibirogba, the three-year statutory tenure of all LG Chairmen and Councilors in Lagos State has expired, adding that they had to vacate their offices yesterday (Tuesday).
The statement read in part: “Consequently, all affected officials, including Supervisors, Council Secretaries and other political appointees are legally required to vacate their offices by close of business on the same day.
“Chairmen are hereby directed to co-ordinate the exercise and hand over to the Council Managers in their respective Local Governments who will take charge of the administration until further notice. “It is expected that newly elected officials will resume office after the next local government elections to be scheduled and conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commission upon completion of the continuous voter registration, ward re-delineation and polling booth re-distribution exercise embarked upon by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
In compliance with the directive, council chairmen in the state have started vacating their offices. But reports have it that some chairmen who have only served a single term of three years, are lobbing to be remain in office to enhance their chances at the next local government election to be conducted by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) at a yet to be determined date.
Efforts by Daily Independent to reach some of the chairmen proved abortive as they did not respond to calls and text messages put across to their mobile phones.
