The House of Representatives has approved a bill aimed at increasing the number of Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State from 20 to 57 by upgrading the 37 existing Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to full-fledged LGAs.
If the bill becomes law, Nigeria’s total number of LGAs will rise from 774 to 811, making Lagos the state with the highest number of LGAs, surpassing Kano and Katsina, which have 44 and 34 LGAs, respectively.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” was introduced by lawmakers from Lagos, including Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, Hon. Babajimi Benson, and Hon. Enitan Dolapo Badru, alongside 19 other representatives.
It passed its second reading during a plenary session led by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
The 37 LCDAs were initially created by President Bola Tinubu during his tenure as Lagos State governor (1999–2007), which led to a dispute with then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who subsequently withheld federal allocations to Lagos.
The bill seeks to amend the Constitution’s First Schedule – Section 3, Part 1, to include the following LGAs: Agege, Orile-Agege, Agbado-Oke-Odo, Ayobo-Ipaja, Egbe-Idimu, Igando-Ikotun, Mosan-Okunola, Oriade, Apapa-Iganmu, Badagry West, Olorunda, Eredo, Kosi-Ejinrin, Eti-Osa East, Iru Victoria Island, Ikoyi-Obalande, Ojokoro, Ojodu, Imota, Ijede, Igbogbo-Baiyeku, Ikosi-Isheri, Agboyi-Ketu, Lagos Island East, Yaba, Odi-Olowo, Oto-Awori, Iba, Bariga, Ejigbo, Isolo, Coker-Aguda, and Itire-Ikate.
Why is IFELODUN LCDA omitted?