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Tag: National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE)

  • NULGE, TUC back NFIU on LG finances

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has thrown its weight behind the new regulations on local government finances released recently by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Agency (NFIU), saying it will help curb reckless spending of local government funds by state governors across the country.

    National President of NULGE, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel told a news conference in Abuja that the regulation was a clear indication of the renewed fight against corruption by the President Muhammadu Buhari led government.

    Khaleel said the union was pleased and “welcome the bold action at the Federal Government in coming up with these measures, which we are convinced will put a substantial halt to the hemorrhage of local government finances, which has over the years been flagrantly abused by state governors and their collaborators.

    “As a union, we will work with the relevant agencies of the Federal government to ensure the successful implementation of the guidelines. We will train our members across the length and breadth of the country to keep an eagle eye on the operations of the Funds going to local government councils henceforth, to ensure that the abuse which has been perpetuated in the past are stopped for good.

    “We wish to commend Mr. President and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, for sanctioning these guidelines. This has renewed our faith in the anti-corruption fight of the present government.

    “We call on all Nigerians to renew their support for the fight against corruption by the current government, so that as a nation we can move forward and use our resources for the growth and development at our people.

    “Going forward, we call on all political parties to put forward credible and capable Nigerians to run for political office in our local government system, so that they can deploy their talent to run functional and credible government at the grassroots level.

    “In our history as a nation this has happened before. We believe with the appropriate change in the mindset of our political elite, this can be rekindled, and our local government system, will once again be an agency for local and grassroots development.”

    Read Also: Breaking: NULGE LG chairman kidnapped in Abia

    Khaleel said further that “it is no longer news that effectively from around 2003, state governors across all the political parties have converted Local Government funds coming from the Federations account into a source of funds which they dip their hands at will without any term of accountability because of their absolute control of the State Local Government Joint Account.

    “Among the provisions of the guidelines are “that the state Local Government Joint Account ls only a collection account for funds to be shared directly to Local Government Councils within a state and that no withdrawal can henceforth be done from a state Local Government Joint Account unless and until that withdrawal is going into a particular Local Government Account.

    “Provision of streamlined accounts for local governments and Provision of a ceiling of N500000 daily cash withdrawal tor all local governments across the country. All other withdrawals must be by cheque or electronic transfers.”

    He said further that “the guidelines went on to provide sanctions (Provisions 8 & 9) for violation on the above guidelines. Banks and other financial or no financial Institutions that violate the provisions are liable to an instant penalty of one hundred percent (100%) refund of the amount withdrawn; while public officer/and or private citizens found undermining or violating these guidelines are to be investigated and prosecuted under the NFIU Act and other anti-corruption laws in place.”

    Also, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) said it was fully in support of the circular aimed at curbing the unending corrupt activities going on at the State and Local Government levels.

    President of the Congress, Bobboi Kaigama said in a statement “that cash transactions and withdrawals of the states from Joint LG Accounts is a threat to development at the grassroot; in fact, it even fans the embers of insecurity and major crisis, etc.

    “The Governors have made a mess of the Joint Account system and have deprived Local Governments of their development initiative in their local areas leading to bad leadership. Whatever checks and balances principle that informed its establishment in the first place is no longer valid. Therefore we fully support the circular and call on well-meaning Nigerians to do same.

    “The biggest challenge confronting the country today is leadership and its bane, corruption. The public officials deliberately violate guidelines that make a system decent. They use party affiliations and religion to see them through. It doesn’t happen in serious countries. We must call a spade by its name.

    “Our institutions must begin to deal with individuals or groups according to the gravity of offence committed. Politicians must realize that they are accountable to us and not above the law.

    “While we commend the NFIU on this laudable initiative we equally urge the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and others to provide the necessary support. Governors must stop usurping the power of LG Chairmen.

    “We are in a democracy and we should abide by all it stands for. We also use this medium to canvas for election of Local Government Chairmen so that they could be people’s representative, rather than being selected by the Governor as caretaker. This will go a long way in institutionalising decency in the system.”

  • Bayelsa labour unions threaten strike over salary stoppage 

    Bayelsa labour unions threaten strike over salary stoppage 

    Local government workers have threatened to embark on strike following the decision of the state government to stop salaries of 4,204 workers indicted for payroll fraud in the local government system.

    The workers, under the auspices of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) asked the government to immediately reverse the decision.

    The government said withholding the salaries was its first major step to stop payroll fraud and implement comprehensive reforms in the state’s civil service.

    The Deputy Governor Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd) said in Yenagoa that the government seized the salaries of the suspects from the eight local government areas for the month of October, 2017.

    He said that 1, 329 of the affected workers were from the local government areas; 2184 from the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), the primary school education system while 707 from the pension payroll.

    But the unions said yesterday that they stood on their earlier demand that the government should reverse the action or face total shutdown of the local councils and primary healthcare facilities.

    NULGE and MHWUN, in an earlier communique at the end of their joint state executive meeting in Yenagoa, said workers would begin a full strike if the government failed to heed their warning after the ultimatum.

    The communique was signed by State President, NULGE, Akpos Ekiegha; State Chairman, MHWUN, James Adama; State Secretary, NULGE, Peace Chukwu; and State Secretary, MHWUN, Letam Nwibani.

    They directed all their branch executives in the eight LGAs to shut down all health facilities, markets and secretariats of the councils beginning from November 9.

    The unions also called on workers in the eight councils and 32 Rural Development Authorities numbering over 14,000 to come to Yenagoa on Tuesday, November 14, at a venue that would be disclosed, for a mass protest against Chief of Staff Government House, Talford Ongolo, on the streets of Yenagoa and the East West Road.

    The unions kicked against a report of a staff verification by Ongolo,  handed over to the council chairmen through the Ministry of Local Government Administration to stop salaries of  thousands of workers and consequently sack them.

    They described the directive as wicked, unthinkable, ill-informed and coming at a time workers were not paid for a minimum of eight months and a maximum of 18 months.

    They insisted that only the Local Government Service Commission could hire and fire and rejected Ongolo’s ‘fake’ staff verification report.

    The unions called on the chairmen of the councils and Commissioner for Local Government Administration to immediately stop the implementation of the report to avoid serious crisis.

    They asked Governor Seriake Dickson to sack Ongolo, saying he had abandoned his duties at Government House and shown desperation to hijack the LGAs and the functions of LGSC.

    They further alleged that the Chief of Staff was bent on creating confusion, particularly at a time Dickson expressed confidence in the activities of the LGSC that were yielding results.

    They said: ” The state government is hereby given three-day ultimatum from Monday, November 6 to Wednesday, November 8, 2017 within which to reverse the directive.

    ”All LGA workers should resume a full strike after government’s failure to reverse the directive within the three days since the last strike was only suspended.

    But the state Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, stressed that the government would not allow sustenance of the payroll fraud, which had held down the state over the years.

    The commissioner said that innocent persons would not be affected by the measures put in place to check the endemic fraud and diversion of state resources.

    He appealed to genuine workers of the local government areas not to entertain any fear as the exercise was not a witch-hunt.

    According to him, the reforms are designed to fish out and sanction a particular category of unscrupulous persons who acts are harmful to the State’s economic development and wellbeing.

    The commissioner stressed that the painstaking exercise conducted in a most transparent manner, involved leaders of the organized Labour including NULGE and the Nigeria Labour Congress.

    He stressed that NULGE’s attack on the person of the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr. Talford Ongolo, was nothing different from a surreptitious attempt to armtwist the government to abandon the comprehensive implementation of the reform process in the state.

    He said:  “Let it be clear that the government has the political will to pursue the process of the reforms to a logical conclusion. The Governor of this state decided embark of the reforms to free the state from the grip of a few greedy elements.

    “The process of the reforms has been transparent from the beginning to this movement of implementation.

    “The government is deeply concerned that NULGE and MHWUN are threatening strike over an exercise designed to prevent fraud and to secure the future of generations of Bayelsans.

    “For us, only those who are benefitting from the heinous acts against the state and the Ijaw Nation would come out to attack the reforms.

    “The governor deserves commendation and the support of everybody and not condemnation.

    “NULGE and MHWUN should be wary of being used by those who have lived a life by stealing from the Bayelsa people and to note that the regime of fraud has come to its end.”

  • NULGE Workers stage protest, demand local government autonomy

    NULGE Workers stage protest, demand local government autonomy

    Thousands of local government workers in Ebonyi state under the aegis of National Union of local Government Employees (NULGE), took to the streets and major road in Abakaliki to protest lack of autonomy in the local government system.

    The workers, who carried placards with various inscriptions, also stormed House of Assembly and government house Abakaliki where they were addressed by the state Head of Service, Dr. Chamberlin Nwele.

    Speaking at the government house gate Abakaliki during the protest, National Trustee of NULGE Comrade Abimbola Babaloloa said local government autonomy will stop deductions of local government allocation by Governors.

    He noted that the autonomy will bring sanity to the system and strengthen the local government administration in the country.

    “If we have our own resources, we will manage it well. We want direct allocations to local governments so that it will stop the deductions being made by our governors. When we have them in our poll, we know how to utilize them better for the people.  We want democracy to get to the root, let democracy thrive at the grassroots; let it be to the standard everybody want.

    “In the past, leadership was grown from the local government system but this day, everything has just been in shamble including the election that is being handled by the SIECs.  We want LG election to be handled by INEC, let’s have democracy at the grassroots. We are the people that are voting”, he said.

    On his part, the state NULGE President Comrade Leonard Nkah said with full autonomy, the third tier of government will provide democracy dividends to the people.

    “Politically, autonomy will create a level playing ground for truegrassroots politicians to emerge as Chairmen and councilors. This will surely create such level of stability that will attract high profile individuals to come and participate in the grassroots governance and contribute their quota towards an enviable local government system thus reducing the pressure and quest for state/ federal appointments”,
    he said.

    Addressing the workers, the state Head of Service Dr. Chamberlin Nwele said in Ebonyi state, over 50% of the local governments cannot pay salaries of the local government workers.

    “About seven out of the 13 local government areas in Ebonyi state cannot pay salaries of workers in the system. Should we have local government autonomy? Today, salaries are paid on or before 15th of every month in the state at both the state and local government employees because of the Governor’s ingenuity in managing the lean resources of the state,” he said.

  • NULGE urges Plateau to owed salaries

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Plateau chapter, has appealed to the state government to pay outstanding salaries owed workers in the state.

    Mr Samson Mafuyai, Chairman of NULGE in Plateau, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Tuesday.

    NAN reports that workers in state-owned tertiary institutions and local government councils were still being owed five and four month salary arrears respectively.

    Mafuyai appealed to the government to use part of the second tranche of the Paris Club refund soon to be released by the Federal Government to settle the outstanding salaries.

    The union leader acknowledged that the present government inherited the problem when it assumed duty in 2015

    According to him, striking workers in the state in 2015 suspended their industrial action over unpaid salaries when the present government made entreaties when it assumed office.

    “’We know that this problem was not created by this regime, but this government’s entreaties made us to soft peddle.

    ”Seriously, we have exercised much patience because this issue has been hanging since 2015.

    ”So, we are pleading with the government to use part of the second tranche of the Paris Club refund that will soon come to the state to settle the outstanding salaries,” he pleaded.

    The chairman, however, commended the government for prompt payment of salaries and pension arrears and urged it to maintain the status quo.

     

  • NULGE elects new Exco in Sandamu LG

    The Sandamu chapter of National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Katsina State has elected new officials to run its affairs for the next three years.

    A statement signed by the Council’s Information Officer, Ghazali Mohammed and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sandamu on Tuesday, indicated that the election was keenly contested.

    It said that Nura Suleiman, an engineer with the local council’s Works Department emerged Chairman with 31 votes while Sani Tudunwada was elected Secretary.

    Other elected officials are Salisu Lawal, Treasurer and Yusuf Bala, Vice Chairman, while the the remaining positions were unopposed.

    In his post election speech, the new chairman expressed his determination to offer credible leadership, adding, “we will do everything possible to protect the interest of our members.”

    He commended the electoral committee for conducting a free and fair election and urged those that lost to join hands with the union to promote the interest of the local council workers.

    Nura commended the Katsina State Government for reinstating 160 disengaged staff of the local government, and urged the union members to justify such gesture by dedicating themselves to their duties.

     

  • NULGE demands local government autonomy

    NULGE demands local government autonomy

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) took to the streets of Calabar, the Cross River State capital, Friday to demand for politician, financial and administrative autonomy of local governments in the country.

    National President of the Union, Mr Ibrahim Khaleel, addressing members at the Freedom Park in Calabar before embarking on the rally said the country so diverse that the only way to ensure an inclusive government for all is to ensure the autonomy of the government that is close to the grassroots.

    According to him, local governments are dying in silecne under the “excruciating control” of state governments, and it is unacceptable.

    He called on lawmakers at the state and national levels, as well as the presidency to treat the issue urgently and ensure that autonomy is returned to the local governments.

    He said local governments are supposed to be the third tier of government according to the constitution, but this is not the case as it merely operates as a “department of the state government.”

    According to the Union, a situation where government selected leaders for local governments was wrong, and the called for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for them and not state electoral commissions.

    He said the rally in Calabar Friday was the first and for the South-south region of the country. Others would hold at Lagos (South-West), Kano (North-West), Taraba (North-East), Enugu (South-East) and in the Federal Capital Territory subsequently.

    President of the Calabar Branch of the Union, Mr Godwin Ayendi, said autonomy for local government would translate to grassroots development, guaranteed democracy, guaranteed national security and improved livelihood for rural dwellers.

    Presidents of the union in other states of the South-South charged members to mobilize support for their national president to achieve the objective of autonomy.

    The rally by the members, who carried various placards to drive home their point, ended at the State House of Assembly, where they were received by the Speaker of the House, Mr John Gaul Lebo.

     

     

  • Bayelsa workers threaten to drag Dickson to EFCC over N1.2bn bailout

    Bayelsa workers threaten to drag Dickson to EFCC over N1.2bn bailout

    Local government workers in Bayelsa State, yesterday, reached a resolution to drag the state Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, to anti-graft agencies if after seven days he fails to produce the N1.2bn bailout he got from the Federal Government for their salaries.

    The workers vowed that Dickson and his officials would have a case with the Economic  and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) if they failed to produce the money.

    Workers in the state are undergoing economic hardship following the inability of the Dickson-led Restoration Government to pay them backlog of salaries.

    While the local government workers are owed over 13 months of salaries, civil servants have not been paid for about six months.

    Dickson got N1.2bn from the first tranche of bailouts doled out to local government areas by the Federal Government.

    The state has also been receiving allocations for local government areas from the Federation Account.

    Dickson, in the last Transparency briefing, while rendering account of how his government spent N95bn the state received from the federation account in the past one year, said out of the money, N12bn went to the eight local government areas.

    But the workers who rose from a joint emergency meeting under the aegis of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and Medical and Health Workers Union (MHWUN) were angry that despite all the money, Dickson had refused to pay them.

    They were particularly unhappy that President Muhammadu Buhari pitied their condition, provided money for them but Dickson refused to pay them.

    The workers said they were going to also write a letter to the President to formally report their plight to them.

    The employees in a communique issued by a joint executive council of the two unions and signed by their secretaries, Mr. Tonye Jaja and Mr. Arafat Wibani, said they would ask the EFCC and the President to recover the money.

    “We will have no other option than to invite the Economic and Crimes Financial Commission to step in and recover the money”, they said.

    The workers further said they would not accept the proposal by the governor to pay them 50 per cent of their salaries.

    “The wages and salaries of workers are guided by law and cannot be slashed except the employees are convinced of the financial position of the state”, they said.

    They further called on the Commissioner for Local Government and Administration, Agatha Goma to always release the monthly statutory allocation to local councils after the Joint Allocation Committee (JAC ) as required by law.

    They urged the state government to without delay release the full January and February salaries to the genuine verified and confirmed staff of the local councils.

    They also advised the government to release 10 per cent of the Internally-Generated Revenue(IGR) and 20 per cent of the derivation funds for the running of the councils.