Lagos assembly suspends Alimosho LG chair over alleged misconduct

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday suspended Jelili Sulaimon, Chairperson of Alimosho Local Government Area, over alleged misconduct.

The suspension is with immediate effect.

The lawmakers during plenary agreed that his vice, Akinpelu Johnson, should oversee the affairs of the council in his absence.

The House further instructed the management of the council, including the manager and treasurer, to recognise the authority of Mr Johnson and accord him all the support to make him work effectively.

Misconducts

Mr Sulaimom was suspended in a unanimous vote by the lawmakers over an alleged non-compliance, defiance and unyielding attitude to the legislative body.

The chairperson of the House Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sanni Okanlawon, moved the motion for his suspension in line with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution.

“He should be suspended immediately while the vice chairman, Akin Johnson, takes over with immediate effect,” he prayed.

He recalled that in April 2024, pandemonium erupted in the Iyana-Ipaja axis of LGA leading to the death of one Micheal Ajayi.

Mr Okanlawon, whose committee was saddled with the responsibility to investigate the cause of the pandemonium, said it was discovered that the suspended chairperson masterminded the chaos.

According to the lawmaker, all persons involved in the issue were invited, but Mr Sulaimon had continued to show acts of misconduct to the committee.

He highlighted the council chairperson’s failure to adhere to the assembly’s directives and his mismanagement of public funds.

Majority leader speaks

Majority Leader of the House, Noheem Adams, while supporting the call for Mr Sulaimon’s suspension, added that the action would make other local government chairpersons to “sit right.”

“The Alimosho council chairman does not follow procurement processes or the budget. There has been a lot of misconduct from him and I support that the chairman be suspended indefinitely,” he said.

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On his part, Nureni Akinsanya, Chairperson of the House Committee on Public Accounts for Local Government, referred to the report submitted by the State Auditor-General concerning the activities of Mr Sulaimon.

The report, he said, emphasised Mr Sulaimon’s “consistent non-compliance with financial regulations, with significant irregularities in his records.”

Similarly, Ladi Ajomale, a lawmaker representing Oshodi/Isolo Constituency 2 expressed surprise that the council boss had been recalcitrant despite previous reports detailing his alleged financial mismanagement.

Subsequently, the House Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the sitting, directed the clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, to communicate the assembly’s resolution to all relevant authorities.