Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Ondo State Government has declared that its intention to create Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) is to make government closer to the people and not for any political reason.
The LCDAs Implementation Committee Chairman, Lanke Odogiyan, who disclosed this at a press conference in Akure, yesterday, said Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is determined to take government closer to the people of the rural areas, hence the intention to create the LCDAs.
He said the state government has concluded all necessary arrangements for the creation of the LCDAs, saying all necessary machinery have also been put in motion to ensure efficient take off of the LCDAs.
He disclosed that the committee received 94 memoranda from various communities across the 18 local government areas at its last sitting.
Odogiyan said the committee had concluded its job and its report would be submitted to Governor Akeredolu before the end of the week.
He assured that all the communities desirous of an LCDA would be considered, just as he said various factors, including land mass and population, would be considered in determining headquarters of the new LCDAs.
Also, he said many communities were already jostling to be the headquarters of the LCDAs, saying the committee will be fair to all the communities in its report and the government will also base its implementation of the report on the principle of fairness.
He was, however, silent on the exact number of LCDAs to be created, but maintained that the new LCDAs would make government more efficient and contribute to effective delivery of dividends of democracy.