By Dipo Olowookere
The chairman of the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, Mr Jelili Sulaimon, has been suspended from office.
He was asked to stay away from the council’s affairs by the Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday with immediate effect.
His suspension followed a resolution of the legislative arm of government in Lagos State today after a unanimous voice vote by lawmakers, with the Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, presiding over proceedings.
The state legislators said in his absence, the vice chairman of the largest council by size in the state, Mr Akinpelu Johnson, should take charge of the local government’s activities.
Mr Sulaimon was accused of disrespecting the Lagos Assembly by not complying with its directive despite warnings to him.
According to Mr Sanni Okanlawon, who chairs the House Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs, the suspended council boss failed to appear before the panel during an investigation into a crisis that broke out in the Iyana-Ipaja area of Alimosho in April 2024.
It was gathered that the said incident led to the death of one Mr Micheal Ajayi, and during a look into the crisis, Mr Sulaimon did not honour invitations to him after it was alleged that he knew about pandemonium.
At the plenary on Monday, the lawmaker asked his colleagues to suspend the council chief from office in line with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“He should be suspended immediately while the vice chairman, Akin Johnson, takes over with immediate effect,” he pleaded, with the Majority Leader of the House, Mr Noheem Adams, throwing his weight behind this.
“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,” the Majority Leader also claimed while debating on the matter today.
This is not the first time Mr Sulaimon will be suspended from office. He suffered a similar fate in May 2021