29/09/2026
LAMPHOLDER, THE PRIDE OF AJEROMI
One Year. A Record. A National Recognition.
By Daniel Sylva Daniel
CPS to the Executive Chairman, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government.
There are moments in public service when the record becomes too visible to ignore.
For Hon. Olalekan Olu Akindipe — LampHolder, the Pride of Ajeromi — barely one year in office has produced a body of work that has placed Ajeromi firmly in the national conversation on grassroots governance.
In just one year, the administration has delivered major infrastructure projects, including road, drainage and streetlight interventions; the Ashibejoye Street Project, the Completed Taiwo Street Project, the long stretch Ago-Hausa Street Project, the Uweriro Street project; the Oluwa Street reconstruction; the Babani Street Project; the Mokoya–Ajasa road and motorable bridge project; the Maracana Foot-bridge project; a new 14-classroom block at Prince Rabiu Oluwa Nursery and Primary School; the reconstructed Alakoto Nur & Pry School; and the development of a 700-capacity ICT Centre.
The story does not end with infrastructure.
In healthcare, the administration has expanded access through free medical outreach, cataract surgeries and the development of the Akere Primary Health Centre. In education, it has supported students through free GCE registration, school interventions and other human-capital programmes. In social welfare, monthly food and cash support has reached thousands of residents, with more than 4,000 beneficiaries recorded during the first anniversary programme alone.
And then came the national recognition.
On 24 September 2026, in Abuja, Hon. Olalekan Olu Akindipe received the National Leadership Award 2026, with the official citation recognising him as the Overall Best Local Government Chairman in Nigeria.
That is the remarkable part of this story: the recognition came after less than a year of administration.
From the streets and communities of Ajeromi to the Nigerian Merit House in Abuja, the trajectory has been unmistakable — from LampHolder to national recognition.
Ajeromi has watched the projects rise.
Ajeromi has seen the interventions.
Ajeromi has witnessed the programmes.
And Ajeromi now has a Chairman whose first-year record has received national recognition.
Perhaps that is why, in conversations across the Local Government, there is a palpable sense of pride in what has been accomplished in such a short period.
But for LampHolder, one year is not the destination.
It is the beginning.
The national honour may have provided a moment to pause and acknowledge the work, but the more consequential chapter is the one ahead — building on what has been started, expanding the reach of government and ensuring that the impact of governance is felt even more deeply across Ajeromi.
One year in office.
A remarkable record. National recognition.
LampHolder has lit the way.
And the story of Ajeromi under Chairman Akindipe is still being written.
