Follow Us on Google
From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The national leadership of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) under the headship of Ambali Akeem Olatunji, on Saturday, lobbied the Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies in the country to achieve autonomy for the 774 local governments in the nation.
They staged the advocacy struggle at the venue of a meeting held on Saturday by speakers of state assemblies held at the Conference Centre of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Oyo State.
Olatunji, on behalf of NULGE, told the speakers of the state legislators in Nigeria that the lack of autonomy for the councils has been undermining the importance of the third tier of government as a vehicle for grassroots development.
‘The agitation towards actualising local government autonomy continues. You would recollect that after the passage of the bill by the National Assembly, which was transmitted to the State Houses of Assemblies, we started zonal rallies and our advocacies took us to Houses of Assemblies, even their homes to lobby them to key in behind the wonderful decision of the National Assembly,’ he stated.
‘We have also contacted some strategic stakeholders, such as paramount rulers, opinion leaders and other well-meaning Nigerians. But we are here today (Saturday) to also lobby the Conference of Nigeria State of Assembly Speakers.
‘The 2023 is around the corner and the people are watching. We are appealing to the people that any governor that is against the local governments’ autonomy should be voted out of office because they are not fit to lead the country.
‘The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) is fully in support of this course. We are concerned about their welfare, and we are also of the opinion that functional education goes beyond the issue of salary.’
Olatunji noted that ‘it is now very difficult for local governments to patch and tar roads, and meet other obligations as it was in the past. Local governments used to sink boreholes and even evacuate refuses, and even construct buildings in the primary schools as well as give bursaries to students, which are no longer possible because they have been hijacked by the state governments.
‘We need to restore Nigeria back to how it used to be. People no longer know the difference between the governor and the local government chairman and councillor. That’s not the narration. Local governments should be returned to a service centre that would be able to provide social services.’
On insecurity in the country, Olatunji stated further that ‘all security challenges are local. So, the solution is local and that’s why local governments should be allowed to provide security and safety in the rural communities because they happen in the rural environments.’
