CREATION OF MORE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS BY AN ACT OF THE STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY LAW

Sequel to the creation of additional Thirty-seven (37) Local Governments by an act of the State House of Assembly on October, 23 2003 by the Administration of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Lagos State Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the consequent dissolution of the Twenty (20) Local Governments Structure Hon. Idowu Obasa was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the newly created Onigbongbo Local Government which was carved out of the defunct Ikeja Local Government.

CREATION

The Local Council Development Area was carved out of the now defunct Ikeja Local Government and came into being on Friday, October 23rd, 2003.

The Local Council Development Area was created under an act of the State House of Assembly Law No. 15, Section 1,2,3, Schedules 1 and 2 of 2002 which was assented to by the Executive Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on October 6, 2003.

CHANGE IN NOMENCLATURE

Following the Supreme Court Judgment which declared the creation as legal in structure but inchoate as an entity, the State House of Assembly again amended the Local Government creation Act to road: ONIGBONGBO LOCAL COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT AREA. This was assented to by the State Governor on July 29th, 2005.

HISTORICAL ANTECEDENT/GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD

ONIGBONGBO LOCAL COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT AREA derives its name from Onigbongbo Town which is located on the Western Wing of the LCDA and bordered by Ikorodu Road at Maryland and the Military Cantonment, General Hospital, Local Government Service Commission, Parts of Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way are also part of Onigbongbo.

Onigbongbo Town is one of the oldest Awori traditional settlements on the mainland Of Lagos Metropolis, older even than Ikeja. It has a rich cultural heritage and is predominantly an Awori settlement.

The major towns in the Local Government are:

(a). Onigbongbo (b). GRA and Onigbongbo (c). Wasimi (d). Opebi (e). Oregun (f). Olusosun

The Local Government has a wide diversity in terms of residency. There exist the densely populated sections which include – Mosafejo in Oshodi, Abule in Opebi, Oregun and Koto Kwara in Olusosun.

There are also the upper middle class estates like Shonibare, Cappa, GRA, Howson Wright, Bamisile, Awuse, Maryland Estates etc.

The Local Government consist of 8 military and police barracks and these are densely populated.

EXECUTIVE MEMBERS

In compliance with the Lagos State House of Assembly Administrative Guidelines for Local Government Administration and in order to bring governance closer to the people at the grassroots level, the executive members of the Local Council Development Area were immediately inaugurated with the listed as members.

1. Hon. Idowu Obasa – Executive Chairman

2. Hon. Wakil Sodiq – Vice Chairman

3. Hon. Camil Abolade Rufia – Secretary to the Local Government

4. Hon. Moshood Mustapha – Supervisor for Works and Infrastructure

5. Hon. Taiwo Eboda – Supervisor for Education

6.Hon.Rotimi Ikudehin -Chief of Staff

7. Hon. Seyi Lawal – Supervisor for Agriculture and Rural Dev.

8.Hon. Rasheed Isiaka – Special Adviser on Youth and Sports

9. Hon. Francis Nkwo – Supervisor for Health

LEGISLATIVE ARM

The Local Council Development Area has six administrative wards, each represented at the legislative arm by a democratically elected Councilor. The composition of the council legislative arm is as follows:

(1). Hon. Adeyinka Adenugba (Ward E, Oregun) – Leader of the House

(2). Hon. Wahaab Akerele (Ward A, Onigbongbo) – Deputy Leader

(3). Hon. Olorunfunmi Taofeek (Ward F, Olusosun) – Majority Leader

(4). Hon. Olugbenga Sogunle (Ward D, Opebi) – Chief Whip

(5). Hon. Oluwafunmilayo Ayoola (Ward B, GRA) – Member

(6.) Hon. Adeyemi Ezekiel Adeyemi (Ward C, Wasimi) – Chairman House Committee on Health

CLERK OF THE HOUSE

The clerk of the house, usually a senior Public Servant is the Administrative Head of the Legislative Arm and equally serves as the link between the Law Maker and other Arms of the Council. Miss Oshodi is the Clerk of the Legislative Arm.

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES

COUNCIL MANAGER

Administratively, the Local Council Development Area is headed by Mr. R.A. Erogbogbo an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer who assists the Executive Secretary with the daily administrative duties. The Council Manager also serve as the Accounting Officer and The coordinator of the department activities in the Local Council Development Area.

DEPARTMENTS AND DEPARTMENTAL HEADS

The present Onigbongbo Local Council according to the new Administrative Guideline has seven (7) departments and four (4) units. The names of the seven (7) departments and their administrative heads is as stated below:

(i). COUNCIL MANAGER – MR. R. A. EROGBOGBO

(Assist. Chief Admin. Officer)

(ii). PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT DEPT – MR. LAI GIWA

(Principal Admin. Officer)

(iii). PRIMARY HEALTH CARE DEPT – Dr (Mrs) T.A. ONI

(Medical Officer of Health)

(iv). WORKS & HOUSING DEPT – MR.  PADONU  (2010-till date)

(Principal Technical Officer)

WORKS & HOUSING DEPT – MR. E.A. KUMOLU-JOHNSON  (2003-2010)

(Principal Technical Officer)

(v). AGRICULTURE, RURAL & SOCIAL  DEVELOPMENT  DEPT.   – MRS. O.A. SETON

(Principal Comm.Dev.Officer)

(vi). EDUCATION DEPARTMENT – MR  R. O. ENIAYEWUN

(Principal Education Officer)

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT – MRS. A.O. LAWAL ( 2007-2010)

(Principal  Education Officer)

(vii). BUDGET, PLANNING & STATISTICS DEPT- MR. K.A. OJO

(Senior Planning Officer)

(viii). FINANCE AND SUPPLIES DEPT – MRS. C. G. SAULA  (Accountant I)

UNITS

The four (4) operational units in the Local Government are as listed below

(i). WASTE MANAGEMENT & SANITATION – MR. O. OJUKO

UNIT (Principal Env.Health Officer)

(ii). AUDIT      – MR.  BABALOLA BADMUS

(iii). INFORMATION UNIT – MISS. O.O. ILESANMI

(Information Officer I)

(iv). LEGAL UNIT – MRS. B.A. OLAIYA

(Legal Officer I)

REVENUE CO-ORDINATOR

The creation of this is an internalized policy which was as a result of the fusion of the office of the Area Officer with the general supervisory duties of the Council Manager by the new administrative guideline for Local Government. This office was created for effective and efficient monitoring of  the Local Governments’ IGR.

History of Nigeria

Before the colonial period, the area which comprises modern Nigeria had an eventful history. More than 2,000 years ago, the Nok culture in the present Plateau state worked iron and produced sophisticated terra cotta sculpture. In the northern cities of Kano and Katsina, recorded history dates back to about 1000 AD. In the centuries that followed, these Hausa kingdoms and the Bornu empire near Lake Chad prospered as important terminals of north-south trade between North African Berbers and forest people who exchanged slaves, ivory, and kola nuts for salt, glass beads, coral, cloth, weapons, brass rods, and cowrie shells used as currency.

In the southwest, the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo was founded about 1400, and at its height from the 17th to 19th centuries attained a high level of political organization and extended as far as modern Togo. In the south central part of present-day Nigeria, as early as the 15th and 16th centuries, the kingdom of Benin had developed an efficient army; an elaborate ceremonial court; and artisans whose works in ivory, wood, bronze, and brass are prized throughout the world today. In the 17th through 19th centuries, European traders established coastal ports for the increasing traffic in slaves destined for the Americas. Commodity trade, especially in palm oil and timber, replaced slave trade in the 19th century, particularly under anti-slavery actions by the British Navy. In the early 19th century the Fulani leader, Usman dan Fodio, promulgated Islam and that brought most areas in the north under the loose control of an empire centered in Sokoto.

AS BRITISH COLONY

Following the Napoleonic wars, the British expanded trade with the Nigerian interior. In 1885, British claims to a sphere of influence in that area received international recognition and, in the following year, the Royal Niger Company was chartered. In 1900, the company’s territory came under the control of the British Government, which moved to consolidate its hold over the area of modern Nigeria. In 1914, the area was formally united as the “Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.” Administratively, Nigeria remained divided into the northern and southern provinces and Lagos colony. Western education and the development of a modern economy proceeded more rapidly in the south than in the north, with consequences felt in Nigeria’s political life ever since. Following World War II, in response to the growth of Nigerian nationalism and demands for independence, successive constitutions legislated by the British Government moved Nigeria toward self-government on a representative, increasingly federal, basis.

Nigeria was granted full independence in October 1960, as a federation of three regions (northern, western, and eastern) under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary form of government. Under the constitution, each of the three regions retained a substantial measure of self-government. The federal government was given exclusive powers in defense and security, foreign relations, and commercial and fiscal policies. In October 1963, Nigeria altered its relationship with the United Kingdom by proclaiming itself a federal republic and promulgating a new constitution. A fourth region (the midwest) was established that year. From the outset, Nigeria’s ethnic, regional, and religious tensions were magnified by the significant disparities in economic and educational development between the south and the north.

On January 15, 1966, a small group of army officers, mostly southeastern Igbos, overthrew the government and assassinated the federal prime minister and the premiers of the northern and western regions. The federal military government that assumed power was unable to quiet ethnic tensions or produce a constitution acceptable to all sections of the country. In fact, its efforts to abolish the federal structure greatly raised tensions and led to another coup in July. The coup-related massacre of thousands of Igbo in the north prompted hundreds of thousands of them to return to the southeast, where increasingly strong Igbo secessionist sentiment emerged.

In a move that gave greater autonomy to minority ethnic groups, the military divided the four regions into 12 states. The Igbo rejected attempts at constitutional revisions and insisted on full autonomy for the east. Finally, in May 1967, Lt. Col. Emeka Ojukwu, the military governor of the eastern region, who emerged as the leader of increasing Igbo secessionist sentiment, declared the independence of the eastern region as the “Republic of Biafra.” The ensuing civil war was bitter and bloody, ending in the defeat of Biafra in 1970.

Following the civil war, reconciliation was rapid and effective, and the country turned to the task of economic development. Foreign exchange earnings and government revenues increased spectacularly with the oil price rises of 1973-74. On July 29, 1975, Gen. Murtala Muhammed and a group of fellow officers staged a bloodless coup, accusing  Gen. Yakubu Gowon’s military government of delaying the promised return to civilian rule and becoming corrupt and ineffective. General Muhammed replaced thousands of civil servants and announced a timetable for the resumption of civilian rule by October 1, 1979. Muhammed also announced the government’s intention to create new states and to construct a new federal capital in the center of the country.

General Muhammed was assassinated on February 13, 1976, in an abortive coup. His chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, became head of state. Obasanjo adhered meticulously to the schedule for return to civilian rule, moving to modernize and streamline the armed forces and seeking to use oil revenues to diversify and develop the country’s economy. Seven new states were created in 1976, bringing the total to 19. The process of creating additional states continued until,