Ondo govt distances from creation of 33 LCDAs

<p>On Monday, the Ondo State Government distanced itself from the list of the newly created 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) being circulated across the state, stating that the official list will be made public after the State House of Assembly passes and gazettes it.</p>, <p>The State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, clarified this during a press parley in Akure, the state capital.</p>, <p>She said the list sent to the State Assembly is not the final version, and the Assembly has the authority to make alterations to the LCDAs list.</p>, <p>She emphasized that the list is still not in the public domain and remains a top secret. Mrs Ademola-Olateju condemned the leakage of the list and distanced the government from its circulation in the state.</p>, <p>“You know, people will leak information, but it’s inappropriate. LCDAs have been approved by the executives, we all took an oath of secrecy while taking this job, and I think we should express fidelity to the oath we’ve taken. I don’t know who leaked it, but I condemn it, and I say it is inappropriate.</p>, <p>We have three arms of government. When the executive has decided, it has to be ratified by the House of Assembly,” she stated.</p>, <p>She further explained, “So, giving it to the press was wrong. That is preempting the House of Assembly. The House can still tinker with the delegation and the areas. For instance, let’s say Akure South Local Government has been demarcated into three LCDAs, when it gets to the House, you know, there are political interests and other considerations.</p>, <p>They might decide to say we can only have two. So, if we have released it to the public, we will have to go and change it again. That is why it was not given to the press or made public.”</p>, <p>However, she clarified, “The fact remains that 33 LCDAs were created in addition to the 18 local government areas, but it is still subject to debate, ratification, and the governor will assent to it. So, the list you are seeing, we