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The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has honoured Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, as the Best Governor on Local Government Reforms in Nigeria.
The NULGE President, Comrade Aliyu Kankara, presented the award to the governor in Yenagoa during a conference on “Promoting Local Government Workers’ Welfare: The Bayelsa Model.”
Comrade Kankara said Governor Diri’s achievements include transforming the local government system in the state through the introduction of fiscal policy reforms that repositioned the third tier of government for better service delivery, staff welfare, regular promotions and financial benefits.
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The NULGE president said implementation of N80, 000 minimum wage for council workers and an additional 25 and 30 per cent salary increase, as well as, the government’s support to councils in the payment of primary schools teachers salary were some of the heart-warming testimonies of the union members. He described, as unprecedented the governor’s timely payment of pensions and gratuities to local government retirees, saying Bayelsa was the first state in the country to pay retirement entitlements immediately after service. The National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Dr Kabir Sani, also appreciated the governor for improving the lives of local government workers in the state, including those from his union.
Governor Diri, in his remarks, said regular payment of salaries to workers and gratuities to retirees were part of the reasons he was elected and should not be celebrated.
He revealed that he was initially accused of attempting to score cheap political points for doing the right thing in offsetting the backlog of gratuities, which dated back to 2007.
Governor Diri said the challenges he met on assuming office necessitated the reforms as several of the councils had huge financial deficits and relied on the state government for bailouts.
