The National President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, Mr Ambali Olatunji, on Thursday called on Nigerians to vote out political parties whose ideologies are not supportive of full autonomy of the local government system.
Olatunji, who spoke during the 8th Quadrennial Delegates Conference of NULGE, Enugu State chapter, expressed concern on how state governors had mismanaged local government council resources.
He lamented that the third tier of government is under siege by state political actors, which according to him, has escalated the underdevelopment in the rural areas.
“All of us are witnessing systematic decay of the local government system caused by state political actors who are mismanaging the resources of the local councils.
“This cannot continue. It is as a result of this disconnect between the leaders and the led that most people are agitating in the country,” he said.
While commending the National Assembly for the bold step it took at ensuring that local councils were granted autonomy, the labour leader urged Nigerians to get their permanent voter cards ready to vote out lawmakers that worked against the realisation of local government full autonomy.
He said though NULGE had demanded for political autonomy, fiscal autonomy and administrative autonomy, the union was still happy that fiscal autonomy was granted.
Nigeria will return to the path of progress if we solve the problems in the local government system,” Olatunji said.
Declaring the event open, the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, said local government workers will soon join their counterparts in the core ministries to enjoy the N30, 000 minimum wage.
The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Mr Uchechukwu Ogbonna, said the modalities on the implementation of the new wage were being worked out.
Copyright PUNCH.
