Petitions stall Osun’s council creation bill

Members of the Osun State House of Assembly have deferred consideration of the Local Government Creation and Administration Bill, 2013, due to petitions.
At plenary, the Speaker, Najeem Salaam, said the bill would not be considered for second reading for now due to petitions from the public on the proposed creation of local council development areas (LCDAs).
On Dec.16, Governor Rauf Aregbesola presented a bill to the House for the creation of 27 lcdas.
The bill scaled through its first reading on Jan. 8.
Salaam said the technicalities and petitions arising from the bill would have to be resolved before considering it for second reading.
He said: “Due to the technicalities and petitions arising from the bill, it cannot be considered for second reading for now. The second reading of the bill will lead us to presenting it to the committee of the House and then its passage. But there are other assignments we have to do before consideration of the bill.”
The bill, when passed, would raise the number of councils in the state to 57.
The bills seeking to amend the State University Development Fund and State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) were read on the floor of the House.