An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital, has declared the creation of the 33 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) by the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu as unconstitutional and illegal.
According to the presiding judge, Justice A.O Adebusuoye, the LCDAs were not lawfully created.
It will be recalled that leaders of the four local governments in Akokoland, had approached the court to challenge the creation of the LCDAs in the area, alleging marginalisation of the area.
The leaders of the Akokoland which include, Akoko Southeast, Akoko Southwest, Akoko Northwest, and Akoko Northeast, through their lawyers, Mr Tolu Babaleye, dragged the state government to court challenging the marginalisation in the creation of the LCDAs.
Akeredolu had in September 2023 signed the bill establishing the councils into law after it was passed by the state House of Assembly members, after the third reading.
The newly created LCDAs are co-existing with the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state, bringing the total into 51.
