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Tag: National Union of Local Government Employees

  • NULGE set to engage Oshiomhole on local government autonomy

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) is set to engage the new National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on the need for the party to support the drive by Organised Labour for local government autonomy.

    A committee on True Federalism set up by the APC had, in its report recommended the scrapping of local government as a tier of government, contrary to the demand of local government workers and civil society organizations across the country.

    But NULGE is banking on the Labour background of the new APC chairman to get the party to change its mind saying, Oshiomhole cannot afford to turn his back on Nigerian workers and their demand for an autonomy for the local government.

    Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, National President of the union, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel said about 24 states of the federation are still yet to take a position on the local government autonomy bill that has been passed by the National Assembly.

    He reaffirmed that nine states of Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Kwara, Niger, Ogun, Sokoto and Plateau have so far passed the local government autonomy bill out of the twelve states that have taken definite position on the local government autonomy, while three states of Edo, Imo and Taraba have rejected the bill.

    Khaleel commended the National Assembly for their post amendment interventions geared towards rallying state legislators to vote in favour of the bills on autonomy for State Houses of Assembly, State Judiciary and autonomy for the Local Government System in Nigeria.

    He said “We are indeed very glad that at this moment, the bills on State Legislative and Judiciary autonomy have been overwhelmingly given endorsement by State Houses of Assembly and expeditiously signed into law recently by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “We consider this as victory particularly for our union since autonomy for the Legislature at the State level was one of the pillars of our struggle and agitation for the deepening of democratic ethos at both the State and Local Government levels of Government.

    “We therefore on behalf of all true democrats and progressives who had supported our struggle and campaigned with us throughout the country in the past and current dispensations.

    Read Also: APC crisis: Oshiomhole assures on justice, fairness

    “Not unmindful of the outstanding principle concern of our struggle in relation to the autonomy of the Local Government. which is due to the desperation of State Governors to manipulate and truncate the quest for autonomy, we wish to commend members and leadership of the State Houses of Assembly that had passed the bill granting local Government autonomy; an action which invariably sent State Governors into panic.

    He said they were not unmindful of the fact that APC Governors Forum had engaged in what he described as dubious political project under the guise of restructuring and made a recommendation based on a spurious broad national consultation that Local Governments should be removed from the constitution as a third tier of Government.

    He said further that with the recent signing into law the financial autonomy bill by President Buhari, which effectively puts an end to the hegemony of absolute control of state legislatures by State Governors, state lawmakers no longer need to fear or be intimidated in asserting the logic of the constitutional provision which empowers them to  check the excesses of Governors.

    He said “One of the most invasive acts and glaring abuse of power by the Governors since the current democratic dispensation is their commandeering of Local Government funds at the expense of the development that they were meant to provide at the grassroots.

    “Perhaps, the delay which the Governors orchestrated to truncate the autonomy of Local Governments, may after all be an act of divine providence for this golden opportunity in which the only politically rational and expedient action State Houses of Assembly can take is to give emphatic endorsement to the two Local Government autonomy bills.

    “Doing so, as it has always been, will not only free resources for broad rural development. it will be among the most patriotic and prudent acts of legislative oversight to entrench democratic values and unshackle our people; the true constituents of Nigeria; from exploitation and undue domination by the clique of state Governors.”

    Khaleel asked President Muhammadu Buhari to break his long silence on the vexed issue of Local Government autonomy and must rise above the perceived political capital in the governors and invest in the trust of the Nigerian majority.

    He said “beyond fulfilling his promise to restore sanity in the operations of Local Governments by State Governors, it is our belief in NULGE that Mr President should also use his administrative powers to appoint reputable auditors to carry out forensic auditing of State-Local Government joint accounts in at least the last ten years.

    “This is necessary since there is little or nothing on ground in the 774 Local Governments to show for the huge resources allocated to States

    over the years. To demonstrate our commitment to the quest for autonomy of Local Governments, NULGE is at the verge of opening another chapter in this struggle.

    “If indeed the representatives in of the people in a number of State Houses of Assembly are not inclined to do the will of their people as demonstrated by members of the National Assembly going beyond merely advocating but actually voting for Local Government autonomy; we will have no other option than to resolve to vigorously mandate all chapters of our Union to use passage of the autonomy bills as a barometer for election at all levels in the forthcoming general elections.

    “As we speak, our members in the 774 Local Governments across the nation are on standby waiting for instructions to engage with members of State Houses of Assembly from State constituencies and to mobilise against those standing against Local Government autonomy.”

  • Why Local Government Autonomy Is Imperative – Saraki

    President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has reiterated his support for local government autonomy in the country.

    Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, stated this during a visit by the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), led by its National President, Comrade Ibrahim Khalil.

    He said that the Senate and the National Assembly appreciate the importance of autonomous governance at the third tier of government and will continue to work towards its realization.

    “Here in the Senate and the National Assembly, we appreciate the importance of governance in the third tier of government — the local government,” Saraki said. “As such, it is very important that we strengthen local government administration.

    “Part of strengthening local government administration is ensuring that there is autonomy. I also believe that strengthening local government administration means that we all do our best to increase the capacity at the local government.

    “Sometimes, you find out that in developed countries, people who are competent, to contest at a level even as high as the Senate, would tell you that they don’t want to be at the Federal level like Abuja or Washington, they prefer to stay at the local level,” he said.

    Saraki told the local government employees that it is also important to see that local governments are properly and independently funded, “however, there must be a symbiotic relationship between the states and the local governments to ensure that the third tier of government is not placed at a disadvantage.”

    “It is unfortunate that you observed that in the last Constitution alteration exercise, we were not successful on this issue. Being a former Governor, the Senate Leader always reminds me that ‘I have seen the light.’ But on a serious note, we all have a role to play to strengthen our local government system.

    “It is important that we see how local governments can be independent, how local governments can have more autonomy, and Governors cannot interfere with what is due to local governments.

    “In all of this, there must still be a cordial and symbiotic relationship. If we just say that local governments should just be on their own, it might have some disadvantages.

    “We must also look at how we can ensure that local governments have funding of their own without any interference,” Saraki stated.

    Read Also: Court dismisses IGP’s suit against Saraki, Senate

    Saraki also noted that following the last Constitutional Review exercise embarked on by the National Assembly, only nine states were in support of local government autonomy, stating that he would do more to ensure that further cooperation and collaboration is achieved to rectify the issue.

    “If we look at the last Constitution review exercise, unfortunately, I must say that we have a lot to do. I don’t think that we got up to nine states that were in support of local government autonomy.

    “I will ensure that we do more to rectify this issue. I am proud to say that my home state, Kwara, was one of those 9 states that supported local government autonomy.

    “It will happen. I assure you, it will happen. We are all in a hurry to see that it happens. The question though, is how soon? I always say that these kinds of things like the Constitutional amendment process, you cannot bully anybody. But you must ensure that there is cooperation and collaboration,” the President of the Senate said.

    Earlier, the National President of NULGE, Ibrahim Khalil lamented that local government administrations in the country have been rendered impotent over the years as a result of undue interference.

    “Our visit is to rekindle efforts and bring all hands on deck to ensure that Local Governments become autonomous in this country,” Khalil said. “We recognize that the leadership of the National Assembly has a critical role to play in ensuring that Local Governments become autonomous in this country.”

  • No Autonomy, no election: NULGE, other stakeholders vow

    The National Union of Local Government Employees NULGE, and other stakeholders in the local government administration on Monday said there will be no general elections in the country,if the long agitated local government autonomy was not granted.

    Rising from its one-day emergency meeting in Akure, the Ondo state capital,the tripartite of NULGE,Civil Society Organisation, (CSO)and Non-Governmental Organisation(NGO)from the Southwest States urged the remaining State Assemblies yet to pass the two bills on local government autonomy to do so without delay.

    According to NULGE National President,Ibraheem Khaleelim “as major stakeholders especially on the two bills for local government autonomy,we will continue our agitations until we are successful”

    “Democracy is about participation and dialogue is key in any public discourse,that is why we embarked on this forum”.

    The NULGE President maintained that no governor could exist without the mandate of the people, stressing that they would go back home to sensitise the people on the need for the governor, who still need their votes to remain in office.

    A leader of the Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Akomolafe Pius said the third-tier administration must be in place as a government closer to the people.

    He urged the State Assemblies and other relevant bodies against playing politics with the two sensitive bills, noting that it was long overdue.

    Also, the National Coordinator, Committee for Democracy and Rights of the People(CDRP)Comrade Amittolu Shittu said the forces against the autonomy would be resisted.

    He declared that both the National Assembly and Federal Ministry of Finance would be picketed by the stakeholders, stressing that democracy would derail,if local government is killed.

    NULGE President in Ondo state, Dr. Bunmi Eniayewu stressed that they would re-double their efforts and ensures that the two bills were passed in the state.

    According to him “We have sensitized the people and as soon as the public hearing is concluded, the state assembly will ratified the two bills.

  • NULGE endorses Ayade for 2019

    NULGE endorses Ayade for 2019

     

    The national leadership of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) on Tuesday endorsed Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, to continue in 2019.

    National President, Ibrahim Khaleel, who led the leadership of the union in the South-South as well as members across the 18 local government areas of the state to the premises of Government House in Calabar, said for NULGE as a vibrant trade union to fraternize with the governor, it showed he was genuinely in demand.

    While expressing gratitude to the Governor for the prompt payment of salaries among other things, he conferred the highest award of the union, an award of excellent performance in governance, to Ayade.

    “You have to run again in 2019. If you refuse, we would come back in thousands as a trade Union and demonstrate our anger at why you want to cut this happiness from us,” Khaleel said.

    Responding, Ayade said 2019 was settled because normally Labour antagonizes government but the reverse was the case in Cross River State.

    He said he identified with the union and would leave the state better than he met it.

    Read Also: Ayade donates N80m to CAN, Muslim community

    Ayade promised set aside N500 million for any member of NULGE who wants to venture to any of the value chains of agriculture to get interest free soft loans.

    Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, Dr Peter Adigeb, said when he punishes civil servants for not supporting the governor, people would criticize him.

    According to him, as civil servants they must follow the government of the day.

    Most of the local government workers who spoke with our reporter on the condition of anonymity said they were intimidated 11to come out and for the endorsement.

    “They warned us that if we didn’t come out today for this endorsement, there would be trouble for us,” one of them said.

     

  • A fitting honour for “The Grassroots Champion”

    The venue was the popular Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, in the city centre of Abuja and the date was Friday, November 10, 2017. Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku stood tall as Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, National Chairman of the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, spoke of his attributes before a huge crowd of people made up of representatives of local government workers from all the 774 Local Government Council Areas in the country, members of the National Assembly from Taraba State, legislators from the Taraba State House of Assembly, chairmen and councillors from the 16 Local Government Areas of Taraba State and thousands of his supporters from in and outside Taraba State.

    Then came the highpoint of the event of that day.   Hon Gambo Tanko Kagara, National President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, emerged with the insignia of the prestigious ]award of Excellence and Best Performing Governor in Grassroots Development in Nigeria and handed over to Governor Ishaku to the admiration of the First Lady of Taraba State and Wife of the Governor, Barrister Anna Darius Ishaku and their son Gibuiya. The crowd exploded into a thunderous applause that almost sent the roof caving in. It was indeed a day that hard work, diligence and patriotism, all of them attributes that have defined the character of the administration of Governor Ishaku in the past two and a half years in Taraba State were acknowledged and rewarded from the least expected but highly respected workers’ umbrella constituency – the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE and the Association  of Local Government Chairmen in Nigeria, ALGON.

    The coming of the award was no surprise to people who have followed the giant strides in the development of the state by the administration. The surprise, really, was the source from which the award came – ALGON, and NULGE, both of them acting jointly and in one accord on this occasion. The two unions are the ultimate umbrellas organisations for all workers and administrators at the grassroots level. The grassroots of the country is for them a familiar terrain and they have good and up to date knowledge of developments at that level of administration in the country. NULGE, as a pressure group whose mission always is to fight for workers’ welfare, is hardly ever impressed by the efforts of political leaders to make life better for the populace. In the case of Governor Ishaku, it was different. They were impressed and they came out not only to say so publicly but to reward him publicly for it. The decision was a product of painstaking independent assessment of the 36 states governors in service delivery at the grassroots level through the promotion of projects and services with direct bearing on the welfare of people at the grassroots level. Governor Ishaku came out as the most outstanding performer.

    Comrade Khaleel told the audience that Governor Ishaku had excelled in his determination to take the local government system in Taraba State out of an unfortunate system that was characterised by monumental corruption, a system that was rotting and dying. “We have subjected Governor Ishaku to a process of long and painstaking investigation and I wish to say with all sense of honesty that he has passed our test. He has distinguished himself as the best friend of workers through regular payment of salaries and pensions and in promoting the welfare of workers generally.” Khaleel also said Governor Ishaku has done more than any other Governor in the country in promoting grassroots development and described him as a “Grassroots Champion”, the most committed promoter of quality education, a dedicated and an incorruptible friend of the people at the grassroots level.

    It was also from this perspective that Governor Ishaku saw the significance of the award. He said in his acceptance speech that it was significant that the award was coming from those who were, by their calling as trade unionists, not very easy to impress by the people in government. The award came from the source he least expected and he said so. “If a labour union is giving you an award, it means that award is indeed a worthy reward because it is coming from those who keep you on your toes every day through their agitations and demands for improved services.”

    The event was for Ishaku an opportunity to recount his long and victorious battle with ghost workers in the state. He told his audience that his administration adopted several strategies which outwitted the perpetrators of salary scams in the state. That victory is the reason that salaries are being paid regularly to workers at all level of governance in the state today. It is also the reason government is able to implement projects that have tremendously changed social and economic lives in the state.

    One remarkable way the administration has positively touched lives at the grassroots level is the 100 boreholes in 100 communities in the state. The successful implementation of that project has changed the water supply situation in the state dramatically, particularly in the rural communities. Those rural communities where people hitherto shared water from ponds with their domestic animals now have regular source of good water. They now have boreholes drilled for them by the government. Additional 150 similar boreholes in 150 more communities are now being drilled to further extend these facilities to more people. It is not unlikely that this rare gesture of the administration is one of the factors that have influenced the award in favour of Governor Ishaku.

    There is also the administration’s skills acquisition programme that has taken thousands of women and youths off the poverty bracket. They were those who benefitted from training organised for them in various areas of vocation that have turned them not only into self-employed entrepreneurs but employers of labour. They were all given financial assistants and start-up equipment that helped them in setting up their own business outfits. Every electoral award in the state is a beneficiary from the scheme. The beneficiaries are rigorously monitored by government’s rescue watch officers to ensure that the beneficiaries do not derail from the objectives of the project. This scheme has greatly and positively touched lives at the grassroots.

    The Ishaku administration’s employment policy has changed lives way down into the rural communities too. The government had lifted the embargo on employment placed by previous administrations in the state. This has led to the employment of nearly 10,000 hitherto unemployed youths in two years, among them the 3000 teachers who were recently presented letters of appointment. The impact of these employments in the socio-economic lives of these employees and their dependants has been tremendous.

    The re-activation of six previously dead government-owned companies has also had tremendous impact on lives. It has opened more job opportunities and stimulated economic activities. The Highland Tea factory in Mambilla is one outstanding example of how the rural populace in the state have benefitted from the revival of the companies. The return of the company to business has also revived tea farming which is the main preoccupation of the people on the Mambilla Plateau. They now make good money from their tea farms by supplying the factory. Governor Ishaku has not only revived the tea company but has also helped tremendously in promoting the product in local and international markets. Today the product is in high demand, far more than the company can cope with. The overall impact of these efforts in positively transforming lives at the grassroots is certainly part of what swung the award in favour of Governor Ishaku.

    The award is an appreciation of the impact of projects and programmes under the government’s rescue mission which is being felt down to the grassroots level. The roads that the administration has built, hospital, clinics, schools and colleges that have been renovated or completely rebuilt, the provision of stable electricity through the supply of transformers, all have achieved one vital objective which is the stimulation of business activities that have also directly improved the economic lives of people in the benefitting grassroots communities.

    The Excellence Award on Grassroots Development is a fitting honour for Ishaku, a man who has fought the battle against payroll scammers and won, rescued education from the abyss of decay and reduced poverty in the state through his multi-faceted skills acquisition programmes that have touched lives positively down to the grassroots. True, “the Grassroots Champion” has joined several of Governor Ishaku’s other middle names.

     

    • Dan Abu is the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Taraba State on Media and Publicity
  • State independent electoral commissions should be scrapped – NURGE

    State independent electoral commissions should be scrapped – NURGE

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) wants the constitutional provision establishing the State Independent Electoral Commission saddled with the conduct of local government elections in the various state scrapped and the power vested on the Independent National Electoral Commission in other to save democracy at the local level.

    Addressing a news conference at the end of the National Executive Council meeting of the union in Abuja, its National President, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel  said that even though the two chambers of the National Assembly voted in favour of local government autonomy, it was not yet time to celebrate since the union has achieved this before, only to have it scuttled by state Houses of Assembly.

    He also added that even though the bill on the scrapping of the state electoral bodies could not sail through at the House of Representatives, the union believe that the issue could still be revisited and considered during reconciliation between the two chambers.

    He also said that the union also believe that local government autonomy can not be absolute if the tenure of elected local government officials is not made a constitutional matter’ but left to the various states to determine.

    He said “We want the National Assembly to look at the possibility of revisiting the issue of deleting SIEC from the constitution because going by the provisions of Aberdeen convention which the United Nations provision on the administration of local government, participatory local government is article number one and for you to strengthen the participation democratically at local government level, SIEC must be scrapped so that INEC will be saddled with the responsibility of organizing election as and when due. It is only when we have this arrangement that democracy at the local government level will be strengthened.

    “Our position is strengthened by the Bauchi state governor who publicly admitted on national television that he had not conducted elections since he assumed office in 2015 due to paucity of funds, adding that it will only make sense for state government to hand off local government elections so that INEC will be saddled with the responsibility to do so.

    “We are canvassing for four-year tenure for local governments, but the issue has already been taken care of by the recent position of the National Assembly which proposed three years. We believe that if at the end of the day, it sailed through with a two third of state assemblies, if would have put an end to the issue of tenure for elected local government officials.”

    The union expressed appreciation to the National Assembly for adopting two of the three key bills on local government autonomy which he said “include the bill on special accounts for local government which grant local government administrators the constitutional power to manage their own accounts as against the existing policy in which governors take absolute control of local government allocation.

    “The bill on the democratic existence of funding and tenure of local government councils which prohibits constitution of caretaker leadership for local government area. Another fundamental victory if endorsed by state assemblies against the fact that many governors continue to exploit caretaker leadership of local councils to trample on the independence of local government areas.

    “The third bill on scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commission from the constitution was defeated narrowly in the House of Representatives with eleven votes short of the required 240 votes. It is our hope that in the course of reconciliation between the two chambers, this may be rectified.

    Khaleel said that the “bold step taken by the 8th Assembly has rekindled our hope that this time around, our struggle and message of local government autonomy through advocacy have taken deep roots not only in the imagination of the Nigerian masses, but even more so in the agenda and scheme of key democratic institutions.

    “This shows that the logic of autonomy for local government has matured;  an idea whose time has come. We are however by no means carried with the belief that the job has been done. We were at this juncture when. The 6th and 7th Assembly voted to support local government autonomy, but could not muster the required two third from the state Assemblies”.

    He said the attention of the union and its civil society allies will not shift to State Houses of Assemblies to ensure that they are not defeated in their determination to see a fee and unfetter d democratic local government system in the country, saying “our hope is that the State Houses of Assembly will this time around not disappoint majority of Nigerians whose joy at the passage of the bills echoed across the country, by mustering the necessary conviction to likewise vote overwhelmingly for autonomy of local government.”

    Justifying the need for local government autonomy, the NULGE President said “given the nature of our political culture, subordinating local governments to state governments via the latter controlling the finances of the former emasculated local government especially those controlled by an opposing political part.

    “Local government should, therefore, be granted autonomy in the spirit of federalism to go beyond political rhetoric. This will help to remedy one of the formidable problems of Nigeria federalism. This is why we have canvassed for the Nigerian Constitution to be amended with sufficient provisions to guarantee local government autonomy.

    “We are therefore glad that the constitutional provisions that had created the environment for their subjugation and rendered vulnerable, the local government system to the exploitative tendencies of state governors are being expunged.

    Local government autonomy should be all encompassing to impact on all the critical aspects of the administration of local communities. It is our position that local communities can only be meaningfully autonomous when popular structures, organisations and supportive values have been created to sustain, propagate and perpetuate fair representation, constant dialogue, openness of policy making, public accountability and collective self-defence”