June 20, (THEWILL) – The Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure has nullified the 33 Local Government Development Areas (LCDAs) created by late Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, declaring them “unconstitutional, illegal, null and void”.
Late governor Akeredolu had on September 9, 2023, assented to the bill creating 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state.
The bill for the creation of the LCDAs was presented to the late governor by the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Oladiji Olamide, during a ceremony at the governor’s residence in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Challenging the creation of the LCDAs, leaders of four Akoko local governments, including Akoko Southeast, Akoko Southwest, Akoko Northwest, and Akoko Northeast, through their lawyer, Tolu Babaleye, had dragged the State Government to court alleging marginalisation.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice A. O. Adebusuoye, described the LCDAs as inchoate and not lawfully created.
The court held that it was illegal for a governor to sign a law outside the state. It added that the Local Government Creation Law 2023 signed by the late Akeredolu in Ibadan, outside the state, was unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
