The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has threatened to mobilise its members against state governors across the country, accusing them of strangulating the lower tier of government of funds.
NULGE national president, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, who spoke with newsmen on Friday in Lagos, urged state governors not to interfere with the proposed constitutional amendment proposed by President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said it was important to warn the governors against lobbying about the proposed amendment, and said that the constitution amendment would touch very deeply on the structure and operations of the local government system.
To this end, Khaleel said NULGE would soon embark on an aggressive mobilisation of all its members and residents in the 774 LGAs across the federation, including the area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, against the state governors.
“We, in association with our progressive allies, shall massively educate Nigerians on the importance of the proposed amendments which would enhance national development, peace, stability and progress of our fatherland,” he said.
He explained that the local government workers had for over a decade been agitating for the restructuring of the LG system.
He listed such areas for amendment as imposition of undemocratic structures (caretaker committee) to run the affairs of the local government; abuse and non-compliance with relevant constitutional provisions that guide the operations of the Joint State-Local Government Account (JAC).
“Others, he explained, “include illegal and sundry deductions from LG fund through the joint State-LG account by the state government; the unsuitability of presidential system of government for the LG due to its expensive mode of operation and its incompatibility with local governance and over-deduction of primary school teacher’s salary and shifting of responsibilities of running primary education out rightly on LG.”
NULGE boss pointed out that the union had embarked on strike to drive home some of these agitations, adding that a series of litigations had also been instituted by NULGE against the federal and state governments on the over-deduction of primary school teachers’ salaries.
Khaleel further said that the struggle and agitation of the union for the re-structuring of the LG system to strengthen its status as an autonomous tier of government informed decision of the National Assembly and federal government to amend the constitution.
He described the current mode of operation as a caricature of LG system where all manners of experiment, political and administrative are carried out, adding that the situation have retarded the development of the nation.
The president lamented that in spite of the various reforms at the LG, the situation has remained the same , adding that the workers are in full support of the propose amendment as it will give LG the constitutional backing it deserve.
According to him, “Section 7 and 162 of the 1999 constitution among others have been a shield and an escape route for many state governments to manipulate the LG and reduce it to more departments in the governor’s office”.
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