NULGE Tasks New Leadership On Enforcing Political, Financial Autonomy

• NULGE

The Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Lagos State Chapter, has urged the new leadership of its national body to vigorously pursue enforcement of financial and political autonomy for the local governments.

The state Chairman, Mr Afolabi’s Ajose made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

The call was on the backdrop of the union’s just concluded National Delegates Conference held on Jan. 6, 2020.

Recall that Mr Hakeem Ambale emerged as the new president of the union following elections conducted after the conference.

Ajose said: “We are hoping that the new leadership will bring together all the factions and rejig what our late leader, Mr Ibrahim Khaleel, died for.

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“That is, full autonomy of the local government system in Nigeria; also ensure that workers are emancipated, and continue to stand for the rights of the workers.

“We started this clamour for autonomy upon which we were given financial autonomy,” he said.

He said, however, that both the political and administrative autonomies were yet to be granted.

The labour leader said that the union was agitating for the cancellation of all State Independent Electoral Committees.

“We are asking that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducts all local government elections.

“It is only that way we can have a genuine instrument that has integrity for free and fair elections, ” he said.

Ajose also called for the establishment of a Local Government Service Commission.

According to him, the commission will be saddled with the responsibility of ensuring a very seamless local government system in line with the civil service of each state.

“Each state is supposed to have the commission and its establishment is supposed to be backed by the Constitution.

“However, because it is not enshrined in the constitution, that is why we are also asking that the constitution empowers every state to establish the commission, ” he said.

Also, Mr Hakeem Bello, who was elected the new National Auditor, NULGE, commended members for good conduct and observing the protocols during the union’s elections.

Bello said: “It has never happened before that we have a national conference like that and we do not have rancor, but this was rancor-free in spite of the pandemic.

“We complied with the measure and conducted ourselves in a proper manner, and the elections went smoothly,” he said.