Stories by Moses John
Abuja
The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), has said that plans are underway to hold a nationwide rally to sensitise Nigerians on the need for them to rise up against the excruciating control of local governments by state governors.
National President of the Union, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, disclosed this while briefing journalists after the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union in Abuja recently.
He said the move is to support the effort of the National Assembly to grant financial and administrative autonomy to the third ties of government, adding that the planned rally has the blessing of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
According to him, the rally would check the under development that the joint state/local government account has brought to the system.
Comrade Khaleel further disclosed that the rally was one of the advocacy activities mapped out to ensure that the local government areas are financially and administratively autonomous in line with the global standard practice.
“One of the demands at the United Nations meeting was that the LGAs across the world be made to be autonomous in line with the democratic principles,” he said.
Speaking further, he said the members of the unions have sanctioned advocacy rally across the six geopolitical zones of the country at the designated centres including Calabar, Cross River state in the South-south; Enugu, Enugu state in the South-east; Oshogbo, Osun state in South-west; Ilorin, Kwara state in North-central; Jalingo, Taraba state in North-east and Kano, Kano state in North-west zone.
He said the union at the state and local government levels will also conduct similar protest; and he assured that the union will collaborate with the National Assembly to ensure that the LGAs autonomy becomes a reality.
