BY Femi Owolabi
A crisis has hit Magodo Residential Area Phase II, Lagos state, over attempts to review the constitution.
A interim caretaker committee has been running the affairs of the Magodo Residents Association (MRA) since June following stalemated elections into executive positions.
An attempt to review the constitution has further polarised the community which is home to many prominent Lagosians.
Some zones in the estate are being accused of trying to foist an “undemocratic” and “self-serving” constitution on the residents.
On Sunday, some MRA members, under the aegis of “Deeply Concerned Residents”, called for a suspension of the review of its constitution.
Led by Dayo Adebayo, a lawyer, the group, in a statement dated August 9, 2020 seen by TheCable, said the ongoing review needs to be suspended because the terms are “largely bureaucratic and unwieldy”.
The concerned residents said while the intent and purpose appear geared towards addressing the political administration, there is very little in the content to deal with issues affecting residents, such as would make office holders “more accountable and transparent”, and also make administration more inclusive.
They said they had examined models of a number of estate associations in Nigeria and elsewhere and found nothing resembling the bureaucratic model currently under consideration by the constitution review committee.
Issues raised include “questions about form of representation – whether equal or proportional (and to think that this is an estate of approximately 2,747 houses as enumerated by the MRA in 2013; but currently with 1,859 financial resident-voters managed by 11 officials!)
“Overdue elections (the MRA has now been run by a caretaker committee since June).
“Revenue generation/management/sharing concerns.
“These agitations and uncertain state of affairs can only further weaken effective administration. They can only further degrade our security, devalue our assets, and also widen the door for undesirable commercial interests – including the setting up of a drinking bar, a red-light zone really – increasingly making life in the estate a nightmare.”
The concerned residents further proposed that a straightforward constitutional model be adopted which may serve as a basis for reorganising the current management structure.
They advised the setting up of a “board of trustees (governed by CAMA 1990, as amended), and executive committee (comprising chairmen of the LOCs of the zones) and local organising committees (elected from the 21 zones)”.
The residents said the local organising committees would exist for the purpose of decentralisation and may carry out their existing functions in meeting local needs while the central body will manage joint services and assets.
They added that they have no political ambition and no interest at all in running for any position in the MRA, but would be open to work with any small group interested to work with them to produce a new draft constitution within two weeks, and which will be circulated for residents to make their comments within one week.
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