Contrary to the law and the guidelines that govern the local government administration in Lagos State as amended in 2015, it was observed that the Kosofe Inside-Out article has propelled the powers that decide who becomes the executive chairman of Ikosi-Isheri LCDA to take a step ahead by announcing Thursday 30th January, 2020, as the new date to swear-in the current Vice-Chairman, Hon. Princess Samiat Bada. Will this move make this document which has been passed into law ‘obsolete’, just 5 years after? Or they are trying to leverage on the naivety of the new government?
Unconfirmed reports made it known that this same guideline that was passed in 2015 was amended again in 2017. We wonder if this so called amendment saw the light of the day, or is the amended document locked up in somebody’s locker at the house of assembly complex?
Are the laws meant to be in the custody of the lawmaker or it is meant to be disseminated to the people? The honourable house of assembly member, Barrister Tunde Braimoh should bail us out of this dilemma by making the laws available for the people’s perusal. Let the people know the laws that guide them.
Being a legislator is an avenue to create awareness for your constituents to be legally informed on the position of the existing laws, the amended laws and other government policies.
The lawmaker representing Kosofe Constituency II, at the house of assembly is in the best position to shed light on this matter. Barrister Tunde Braimoh is the number one custodian of the law of the people in the constituency II locality.
If this law was amended as claimed in 2017, the house of assembly member representing Kosofe constituency II should be held culpable for not bringing his constituents to speed on the current status of the law which emanates from the State assembly complex. The success of a legislator lies in the level of the awareness he furnishes his constituency. Infact, this is the legislator’s score card. It is a shame that Kosofe Inside-Out operates in this constituency, and one of such information have not been dispersed from the staples of the honourable house of assembly member to the public in five years of his tenure.
We won’t quickly forget that in December, 2019, Hon Okanlawon Babatunde Sanni, OKLA, made public all that he was able to achieve in six months of stepping into the shoes of Hon. Bayo Osinowo. He didn’t disappoint his constituents, he went ahead to add some youth support programmes to compliment his legislative functions. The initial fear of Kosofe constituency 1 residents and stakeholders was whether he could fill the vacuum Hon. Osinowo has left behind. OKLA has surely demonstrated his competence.
In order to bury this shame, the honourable constituency II lawmaker should kindly publish the amended laws and periodically furnish the people he represents with the law, the amended law, or the proposed law to be amended. This is the primary function of a legislator.
If truly there is an amendment made to the guidelines of local government administration as claimed, then we, at Kosofe Inside-Out shouldn’t be held responsible for being ignorant of this, the legislator hasn’t done enough in terms of awareness. If you visit our website, www.kosofeinsideout.blogspot.com, every information at our disposal is made readily available for our people’s consumption, we know that Kosofe Inside-Out is the people’s first stop for any adequate information, complimented with facts, same is for our printed editions.
There shouldn’t be secrecy in governance, especially a legislative arm. How come the acclaimed member who jointly passed this document in 2017 hasn’t publish this document on any of the social media platforms? Why has this document not surfaced anywhere? Why is this document so sacred, that after ransacking all the archives, it is yet to be found? Even the local government doesn’t have the laws that govern it, how do we hold the executive officers to law when they are contravening it?
Where can we find these laws? There should be a comprehensive document of the guidelines that is binding on the people made available somewhere. Not screenshots. Anybody can cook up a screenshot of any organisation’s document. These laws can be made available for the people on social media, as Kosofe Inside-Out deemed necessary on our blog when we got hold of the guidelines of the local government administration as amended in 2015.
During the last administration of Governor Ambode, every issue was made available online.
People were able to access all government policies because Ambode was press friendly, you can’t run a public office and be an enemy of the press. Why should the laws made for the people, to guide the people and to bind the people be taken far from the people?
In saner climes, lawmakers don’t create social media handles just because they want to publish pictures of parties they have attended and abandon the job they are paid to do. Social handles are meant to distribute laws passed, amended et al. You are giving us the impression that parties and social functions are the only places where our lawmakers expend the common wealth of the nation.
Which community beneficial programme or project or law has been made public through the social media platforms of yours that has brought the greatest good to the greatest number of your constituents, as being preached on your campaign posters and billboards?
As a respected barrister of the bar, Hon. Braimoh should represent Kosofe constituency II better, not by whatever might have transpired at the house of assembly complex, but at the community level where information should be disseminated. The scorecard of a lawmaker is solely on the level of awareness his constituents has on the existing laws, the amended laws and the proposed laws.
We enjoin all house of assembly members in Lagos State to always furnish their constituents with adequate information, most especially the laws that guide the people.
If anyone thinks we have stepped on toes by calling the attention of the public to what the law says about running the affairs of the government. We will be glad to have you furnish us with a comprehensive document of the amended 2017 version of the guidelines governing the affairs of the councils, else, we stand by the 2015 version available at our disposal.
http://kosofeinsideout.blogspot.com/2015/09/revised-guidelines-on-administrative.html
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