By Adekunle Sultan
Since their swearing in on 27 July 2025, newly elected chairmen across the 20 Local Governments and 37 LCDAs in Lagos State have spent more than six months in office without fully constituting their cabinets. What should have been a routine phase of administrative stabilisation has stretched into an extended delay, leaving governance at the grassroots weakened and party confidence increasingly fragile.
Local government is not ceremonial. It is the tier of government closest to the people. Roads, primary health centres, markets, sanitation, and community engagement depend on structured executive coordination. A chairman operating without a Secretary to the Local Government, supervisors, and other key aides may continue administratively, but effective governance suffers. Decisions slow, oversight weakens, and accountability becomes concentrated rather than shared.
Responsibility for this prolonged delay cannot be blurred. While appointment powers are legally vested in council chairmen subject to legislative confirmation, the political reality in Lagos is shaped by coordination among the Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the All Progressives Congress leadership in the state, and the Governance Advisory Council. At this point, these leadership structures must accept accountability for the vacuum.
The irony is striking. The President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is from Lagos, a state long projected as a model of organised party discipline and governance excellence. Yet the current situation at the local government level does not reflect that standard. If Lagos is to remain the political compass of the ruling party nationally, it must demonstrate efficiency and responsiveness at home. Delayed cabinet formation does not strengthen the President’s political standing; it undermines the example Lagos is expected to set.
Grassroots signals are already evident. The last general election exposed signs of voter fatigue and declining enthusiasm. Recent party registration figures further reflect this shift. Alimosho, which traditionally leads in mobilisation strength, came second. Mushin, usually near the top, fell to ninth. Agege, historically fourth or fifth, dropped to nineteenth. These are not minor fluctuations. They are indicators of diminishing excitement within party ranks. Yet rather than urgently consolidating grassroots confidence through inclusive governance, leadership appears comfortable prolonging uncertainty.
Party members who mobilised, campaigned, and defended mandates did not do so merely to observe governance from the sidelines. They expected participation and structured engagement. Extended silence breeds speculation. Speculation breeds frustration. If the ruling party continues to delay empowerment mechanisms at the local level while expecting unwavering loyalty, it risks deepening internal discontent and alienating its traditional base.
With geometric increase monthly allocations to councils, growing population, council chairmen in Lagos State require not only an increased administrative team, but one that is promptly enpannelled to deliver at this period of critical transformations, as well informed constituents are now more ready to demand public service deliveries, that compare sister states contemporaries of Lagos globally.
Six months is no longer a transition. It is a statement. Lagos cannot afford to project administrative hesitation at the very tier that sustains its political machinery. The Governor, the APC leadership, and the Governance Advisory Council must act decisively. Restoring cabinet structures across councils is not simply about appointments. It is about restoring confidence, demonstrating leadership, and proving that Lagos still understands the political weight of grassroots governance.
_Adekunle Sultan is a committed member of the All Progressives Congress in Orile-Agege, Lagos State. He writes regularly on governance, party development, and grassroots political engagement._
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