Less than 24 hours after the passage of the Law creating the new 19 Local Council Development Authorities (LCDAs) by the Ekiti House of Assembly, one of the affected communities, Ilasa Ekiti, has rejected the exercise.
The community which rejected the citing of the headquarters of the new LCDA, said that undue political manipulations were allowed to prevail over objectivity, common sense and rationality, in the creation of the LCDA.
Writing under the auspices of Ilasa Development Union (IDU), the community, in a letter dated Aug. 5 sent to the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said that there was nothing to cheer in the creation of Ekiti Southeast LCDA.
This information is contained in a letter signed by Mr Tajudeen Olutope Ahmed, and Adebayo Bode Thomas, the National President and National Secretary respectively, and made available to newsmen on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti.
The Ilasa community noted that their town ought to have been named as the headquarters of the newly-created Ekiti Southeast LCDA, rather than given a non-existence name, as the headquarters of the LCDA.
“As laudable as the idea behind the creation of the new LCDAs are, the creation of Ekiti Southeast LCDA is nothing to cheer about.
“This is because undue political manipulation and chicanery were allowed to prevail over objectivity, commonsense and rationality, in the creation of the LCDA.
“Among the component member communities of the LCDA, it is not in doubt that Ilasa Ekiti ranks far and above others.
“Apart from its long existence and history, its Oba is the only monarch in the LCDA with grade ‘A’ status, while others are in the grade ‘C’ classification.
“This is in addition to the fact that Ilasa Ekiti has played leadership and headship roles to a segment of the component towns in the LCDA for decades (Ekamefa community), the letter read.
The IDU maintained that the committee set up to investigate the viability of the LCDAs, clearly recommended the headquarters of Ekiti Southeast LCDA to be at Ilasa Ekiti.
“We gathered that the recommendation was truncated by the powers that be, as a way of favouring the interests of ‘certain powerful and influential politicians’ from some of the other component towns.
“The implication in citing kiti Southeast LCDA headquarters at Isokan, is that the secretariat of the LCDA can be situated at any part of the LCDA. This is most unacceptable and condemnable,“ the letter said.
The community also expressed misgivings that the so-called Ekiti Southeast Local Council Development Area, is unnecessarily congested.
“The old Ekiti East local government is now left with Omuo Ekiti town alone (since Isinbode Ekiti has joined Ayekire LCDA, where it rightfully belongs), Ekiti Southeast LCDA is parading nine independent communities as members.
“It is on the totality of these reasonings, that we hereby declare that there is nothing cheering in the purported creation of the LCDA.
“As the umbrella union of all sons and daughters of Ilasa Ekiti, we condemn the naming of Ekiti Southeast Local Council Development Area as “Isokan”, an amorphous and non–existence place, instead of Ilasa Ekiti, where it rightly belongs.
“We call on the Government of Ekiti State to ensure necessary amendment to this monumental anomaly.
“Even as we warn that no attempt should be made at taking the headquarters of Ekiti Southeast LCDA to any other place, other than Ilasa Ekiti,”the statement said.
