The creation of 31 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) by the Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola has been described as fake, which might further plunge the state into abject poverty.
This is the position of the main opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which insisted that since the Councils’ were created without recourse to the National Assembly; they remain fake, null and void.
Chairman of the party, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, who spoke with The Guardian, said the governor has succeeded in destroying the template of local government administration in the state, which has further impoverished the hapless masses.
“He is just impoverishing the people of the state, is this the state of other local governments across the country? He has been on the saddle for seven years without any council election, we have 332 wards, there are no councilors, no chairmen and no supervisory councilors, the next thing for him is to embark on creating more councils. What does he rely on to develop the new councils?
“Even oil producing states never embarked on this kind of mission, is it from the N6m monthly allocation that he wants to develop the new councils? He has turned the people of the state to fools; he was just cajoling the ignorant ones that he is performing. By the time the election is approaching he will start deceiving them and during Christmas and Muslim festival too, he will cajole them with free train ride.”
Olaoluwa accused Aregbesola of under-performing; “What has he done since he assumed office? When we raised the alarm then that he was taking loans, he denied it, now that the banks are taking their money, we are all bearing the brunt.
“I said it then during our campaign towards the last election that life has no part two and that our people should not waste their votes. We are all going to suffer this hardship for the period it is going to last, there is no money to pay salaries, anybody having hope in Osun is just wasting his/her time. He has borrowed more than his capacity and has mortgaged the future of the state, whoever succeeds him will suffer because the government will for a very long time be offsetting loans.”
He lamented that 20 per cent of the state work force are dead and from the remaining, some are having stroke and other ailments, noting that from the look of things, “there is no hope for anybody in this state, but just for us to take heart.”
The governor announced the creation of 31 new LCDAs, three area councils and two administrative offices on March 8, in a state broadcast to the people of the state. The governor said his administration would make judicious use of its revenues in a way that increasing the number of councils will least constitute any financial burden.
He also announced the dissolution of the management committees of the existing 30 Local Councils and Area Office, their executive secretaries, deputy executive secretaries, members, special advisers and other functionaries.
Guardian