Gov Sanwo-Olu Signs LG Administration Law

Gov Sanwo-Olu Signs LG Administration Law

In a major development that could reshape the political landscape of local governance in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has signed into law the Local Government Administration Law 2025—a bold legislative framework that now governs the tenure, succession, and disqualification of Chairmen and Vice Chairmen across the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs of the state.

Signed in 2025, the new law provides a clear legal structure for leadership succession in cases of death, resignation, or political defection, and firmly stipulates that a Vice Chairman who assumes the office of Chairman due to any such circumstance shall be considered to have served a full term, regardless of the duration.

However, political watchers have begun raising questions about the consistency of application in the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly in two LCDAs—Agbado-Oke Odo and Ikosi-Isheri.

In Agbado-Oke Odo LCDA, the new law has been duly implemented, as a former vice chairman who had previously stepped in to complete his chairman’s tenure was disqualified from contesting again, in accordance with Section 28(4) of the law, which considers such succession a full term in office.

The situation in Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, however, presents a stark contrast, where the current APC candidate and flag bearer in Ikosi-Isheri LCDA first served as vice chairman, then took over as chairman following the death of the sitting chairman, and afterwards completed a full four-year tenure as elected chairman. Despite having effectively served in the role across two tenures, she has been cleared to contest once again, even officially unveiled as the APC flag bearer at the party’s campaign flag-off held yesterday at the Lagos APC State Secretariat.

This development has raised serious legal and moral concerns, particularly among observers who question the inconsistent application of a now-binding state law. If the law was used to disqualify a candidate in Agbado-Oke Odo, why was the same not done in Ikosi-Isheri?