The House of Representatives is currently considering legislation that would recognize 37 Local Development Area Councils in Lagos State as full-fledged Local Government Areas, potentially increasing the total number of local governments in Nigeria from 774 to 811.

The bill, jointly sponsored by Abiodun Faleke and 21 other lawmakers, seeks to constitutionally validate the local councils originally created by President Bola Tinubu during his tenure as Lagos State governor between 1999 and 2007. This move revives a long-standing political dispute that previously led to a confrontation between Tinubu and then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who had seized Lagos State’s federal allocations in response to the creation of these councils.

The proposed legislation aims to alter the Constitution’s First Schedule, explicitly listing the 37 additional local government areas. These include newly recognized areas such as Agbado Oke-Odo, Ayobo-Ipaja, Egbe-Idimu, Igando-Ikotun, and many others across different regions of Lagos State.

If successfully passed, the bill would transform Lagos’s local government structure from its current 20 local governments to a total of 57. The proposed constitutional amendment is designed to formally accommodate these development area councils, giving them full operational status as recognized local government areas.

The explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill emphasizes the intent to constitutionally capture these 37 Development Area Councils, effectively legitimizing a local government structure that has existed de facto for nearly two decades.

The legislative process is still ongoing, with the bill having passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.