9th February, 2012
The buildings which house Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos state, southwest Nigeria, are to be demolished.
In their place, a multi-million naira shopping mall would be built by the current administration of Chairman of the council, Babatunde Oke.
The Chairman, who disclosed this when members of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs visited him, said that the idea was to boost the council’s revenue to enable it meet the yearnings of the people.
Delivering a prototype of the structure to the Committee members, the council Chairman said the five-storey building would have the council secretariat at the top floor while the ground floor would be a hall that would be rented out for events.
He said the council had almost completed consultation with the state government in order to get the approval for the building to commence.
He also said the council already has financiers, but declined to state the amount being projected for the structure.
Prior to his presentation, the lawmakers had questioned the non-availability of office spaces for the staff and political office holders in the council despite the opportunity it had to generate enough revenue because of where it is situated.
Also, at the Ikosi-Isheri Local Government Area, the council Chairman, Abdulfatai Oyesanya, presented an architectural design of the new council secretariat.
This was amidst complaints by the residents of the area against the former immediate past Chairman, Kunle Soname, who they accused of non-performance.
Some of the residents informed the Committee that most of the officers of the council had no offices during the former Chairman’s tenure and that most roads in the area were in bad shape.
They however said within his first 100 days, the current Chairman had ensured that the roads are motorable and has carried stakeholders in the area along on projects he was executing.
Chairman of the Committee, Olarenwaju Oshun, warned the council Chairman not to be carried away by the commendations as the Committee would constantly visit local governments in the state to keep chairmen on their toes.
—Eromosele Ebhomele