Ekiti Assembly Receives Bills On Judicial Autonomy, Creation Of New LGs

By Ayodele Oni

Ekiti state Government took a step forward on Tuesday in its quest to create additional Local Councils, to be known as Local Council Development Areas, (LCDA).

The State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, forwarded two bills to be enacted into law to the State House of Assembly.

A statement by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Olawale Fapohunda, listed the two bills as the Ekiti State Judiciary (Funds Management) Bill, 2021 and the Creation of Local Government Bill, 2021.

The statement gave details of the bills as “The Judiciary (Funds Management) Bill is a bill for a law to provide for the Management of funds of the Ekiti State Judiciary and the repeal of the Ekiti State Fiscal Autonomy for the Judicial Arm of Government Law, No 8 of 2008 and for other related matters.

“The Government of Ekiti State proposed this bill in furtherance of the Memorandum of Action on the Implementation of the Financial Autonomy for the State Judiciary, which was jointly signed, by the Nigeria Governors Forum and the National Judicial Council among others on 20 May 2021.

“In broad terms, the purpose of this bill is to grant Ekiti State Judiciary the power to manage its capital and recurrent expenditure in accordance with the provision of Sections 6(5)(a)-(I), 81(3), 121(3) and Item 21(e) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and other relevant laws.

“The Bill further affirms the severally stated commitment of the Fayemi administration to an independent judiciary that is professional, effective, and responsive to the needs of all users including where appropriate, the provision of informal dispute resolution mechanisms.

“The Second Bill is the Creation of Local Government Bill, 2021. This is a Bill for a law to provide for the creation of new local government areas in Ekiti State and for other related matters.

“The Bill seeks to create nineteen (19) new local government areas in addition to the existing 16 local government areas in the state as specified in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

“These newly proposed Local Government Areas are inchoate and shall operate for the time being as Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) until such a time as the National Assembly shall pass an act recognising them under section 8(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).”