Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday administered the oath of office on 57 Executive Secretaries that would run the affairs of the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas in the state.
Fashola said that the executive secretaries would run the affairs of their respective councils for the next three months.
The former elected chairmen of the various councils vacated their offices on October18, 2014, following the expiration of their statutory three-year tenure.
Since then, the council managers had been overseeing the day-to-day activities of the councils.
Fashola said the appointment of the executive secretaries was to ensure there was no vacuum in service delivery at the grassroots.
He said each of them would oversee the council assigned to him or her with four other officials for a transitional period of three months, after which the state government may renew their tenure or do otherwise.
Fashola said the state had tentatively fixed March for the council elections and that tenure extension would be subject to whether the State Independent Electoral Commission would sort out all the necessary issues ahead of the election.
The governor urged the new appointees to justify the confidence reposed in them by serving conscientiously and working with other people to uplift the people at the grassroots.
He charged them to strengthen education at the grassroots and work assiduously to improve primary health care delivery system in their areas.
Fashola siad: “We expect the new appointees to focus on the primary responsibilities at the councils. The first duty of any government is to secure lives and properties.
“Also, my mandate to you is to go and intimate all members of your committees that they are part of us, they are Lagosians, and that we must integrate everybody and we must live in peaceful co-existence.“
Fashola urged people who might have been aggrieved by the selection of the appointees to work with them, pointing out that it could not have been possible to give responsibilities to every deserving person.
The governor restated the commitment of his administration to service delivery at the grassroots, saying the government had done a lot to demonstrate this.
Speaking on behalf of the appointees, Mr Omofunmilewa Adejombo thanked the state government for the appointment, and described it as a golden opportunity to serve.
He assured the state government that he and other appointees would do their best to impact positively on the lives of the people at the grassroots.
Some of the newly sworn in Executive Secretaries include: Segun Jubril (Isolo), Fausat Hassan (Ojokoro); Moshood Abiola (Onigbongbo); Wasiu Adeshina (Ikorodu); Bayo Adebisi (Ikorodu North); Princess Aduni Oyefusi (Ikorodu West); Muyiwa Adesoya (Imota); Taiwo Orenuga (Igbogbo-Baiyeku); Toyosi Olusi (Lagos Island); Omotosho Lukman (Lagos Island East); Jide Bello (Mushin); and Rasak Ajala (Odi-Olowo).
Others were Sikiru Lawal (Ojo); Abiodun Oresanya (Somolu); Oyoke Yahaya (Iba); Alabi David (Bariga); Olajobi Dauda (Oshodi); Tajudeen Alabi (Ejigbo); Dele Hussain (Surulere); David Famuyiwa (Agbado Oke Odo); Ahmed Seriki (Epe); and Ajibola Ojodu (Amuwo Odofin).
The inauguration also also in attendance the Chairman of the Lagos All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Henry Ajomale, the governorship candidate of the party, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and others.
PDP condemns action
Meantime, the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the the swearing in of executive secretaries to head the 57 councils as illegal and an alleged attempt to rig the 2015 general elections in Lagos State.
In a statement by its publicity secretary, Mr Taofik Gani, the party faulted the swearing in of the secretaries, saying it is a desperate attempt by the All Progressives Congress, APC, to win next month’s polls.
The statement read: “The Lagos State chapter of the PDP has described the swearing in of Executive Secretaries to head the 57 Lagos state councils as unconstitutional, self serving and APC’s ploy to rig the Lagos governorship elections in 2015.
“The party further stated that the inglorious action by Governor Fashola at this time confirms Fashola and his APC as always acting for their selfish convenience.
“They are not progressives. They are not democrats. They are aiding and abetting destruction of democracy at grassroots. It further exposes them as not democrats and who run a system down to favour their inordinate ambitions. This ambition is the desperation to win Lagos State in 2015.”
The party added that “the executive secretaries have been sworn in at this time to manipulate the elections at their domains for APC. They will fail and this time Lagosians will vote against APC for depriving them democratic local councils”
The PDP, which said the swearing in was in violation of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution said there was “a pending subject of litigation in the Lagos High Court.”
