The House of Representatives has approved a bill seeking to recognize Lagos State’s 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) as full-fledged Local Government Areas (LGAs).
If enacted into law, this move will increase the number of LGAs in Lagos from 20 to 57, giving the state the highest number of local governments in Nigeria, surpassing Kano (44 LGAs) and Katsina (34 LGAs).
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Accommodate the Thirty-Seven (37) Development Area Councils of Lagos State as Full-Fledged Local Government Areas, Increasing the Total Number of Local Government Areas in the Federation to Eight Hundred and Eleven (811), and for Related Matters (HB. 1498),” was among the 42 constitutional amendment bills passed during Wednesday’s plenary, presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
Sponsored by Hon. James Abiodun Faleke (Ikeja Federal Constituency), Hon. Babajimi Benson (Ikorodu Federal Constituency), and Hon. Enitan Dolapo Badru (Lagos Island I Federal Constituency), along with 19 other lawmakers, the bill successfully scaled its second reading.
If fully passed into law, it will increase Nigeria’s total number of LGAs from 774 to 811, further decentralizing governance and strengthening local administration in Lagos State.
