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Tag: NULGE

  • NULGE hails Umahi for pay rise

    The President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ebonyi State chapter, Mr. Leonard Nkah, has hailed Governor Dave Umahi for approving five per cent pay rise for workers.

    He said Umahi had shown he is a listening governor.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Umahi announced a five per cent pay rise for workers while addressing the people last Saturday at the Abakaliki Township Stadium.

    Nkah said a dedicated account of over five billion naira would be opened for arrears of pensions and gratuities.

    He told NAN in Abakaliki that the governor’s action was commendable.

    “Governor Umahi has proved to be a listening governor, as the labour movement has been agitating for pay rise since the salary template was released and implemented.”

    The NULGE president hoped that “as a listening governor, Umahi will adjust workers’ salaries upwards periodically.”

    He urged the governor to direct the authorities to comply with his directive by paying local government workers mid-month.

    NAN recalls that Umahi directed that civil servants be paid on 15 of every month.

    In line with the directive, civil servants receive their salary by  15 of every month, except local government workers.

    Nkah complained that council workers received their salary month end or, in some cases, first or second week of the following month.

  • Local govt autonomy: NULGE seeks constitution amendment

    Local govt autonomy: NULGE seeks constitution amendment

    The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to back his promises with action on local government autonomy.

    NULGE also demanded constitution amendment, saying it was required “to achieve the desired autonomy for local governments and free them from the apron of state governors, who see and treat local government as an extension of their state.”

    Since President Buhari was sworn in on May 29, 2015, he had, at several fora, promised to ensure the autonomy of councils as the third tier of government.

    During the visit of the leadership of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), last week, Buhari said his administration would support a constitution amendment to free local governments from the stranglehold of states.

    Promising that this would better the lot of Nigerians at the community level, Buhari said a constitution amendment was required to define the relationship among the three tiers of government.

    Speaking in Abuja at a forum, NULGE President Ibrahim Khaleel said the union and the organised labour would support the President in his efforts to liberate the third tier of government from governors.

    He said: “We listened to President Buhari during the visit of ALGON and we are very happy with what the President said. Labour as a whole, and NULGE in particular, are ready to help the President fulfill his promise.

    “Many things are wrong with our system and the way the local government is being run in Nigeria today. President Buhari has made such promises on several occasions but we have not seen any step taken in that direction.

    “In as much as we support him, we want him to begin the process. Four years is too short in the life of a nation, especially in a country like ours. By the year 2018, serious politicking will begin, and whatever you don’t achieve by then, it may be difficult when another election is approaching.”

    Kahleel advised Buhari to put the machinery in motion to ensure financial autonomy for local governments.

  • Ortom debunks rumour of workers retrenchment

    Ortom debunks rumour of workers retrenchment

    Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has dismissed widespread rumour that his administration was planning to downsize the state’s workforce because of economic constraints.

    Governor Ortom who stated this while fielding questions from journalists at the end  of the meeting he held with officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE  and affiliate unions at Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, said the  meeting addressed the problem of non-payment of salaries.

    Governor Ortom said the difficulties he has faced in paying salaries arose as a result of the dwindling allocation to the state which dropped to N1.3 billion and explained that the allocation was too meager to meet the challenges confronting the state.

    He maintained that Benue workers contributed immensely to his emergence as governor, and reiterated that he has no intention to downsize the workforce even in the face of economic challenges.

    “I am not thinking of downsizing the workforce for now, we are thinking of industrializing the state so that even civil servants can go into the industries and forget about civil service; workers in Benue state are part of me, they contributed immensely in making me governor, and there is no way I will toy with their welfare,” he added.

    He said, the only way the state can wriggle out of the quagmire is to borrow money to offset the backlog of unpaid salaries of workers who are the ‘drivers of the economy’.

    In separate interviews, the state Chairman of NLC, Comrade Godwin Anya, as well as his NULGE and TUC counterparts, urged the state governor to obtain more loans to clear workers’ salaries.

    “I support the idea that the governor should borrow money again to clear workers’ salaries because as long as we live, we cannot die because there is no money, so, if it means borrowing one hundred times, NLC will agree that government should go ahead and borrow”, Anya said.

    On his part, the state NULGE Chairman, Mr. Terungwa Igbe, also supported the move to obtain another loan to pay workers, stressing that local government workers needed to be paid.

  • NULGE seeks NASS support for local govt autonomy

    NULGE seeks NASS support for local govt autonomy

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has called on the National Assembly to support true federalism that guarantees the autonomy of local government administration in the country.

    NULGE National President, Ibrahim Khaleel Abdulkadir, made this appeal when he led a delegation of the union on a visit to the House of Representatives in Abuja.

    He also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the ongoing fight against corruption in the country to the local government councils, adding that the union was in total support of the fight against corruption.

    He said the main challenges facing NULGE were the continuous encroachment and diversion of local government funds by the state governments. He, however, said the union would continue with the struggle for the emancipation of the LGAs.

    He said the state governments imposed political structures at the council areas that most times negated the principles of democracy, alleging that the state governments manipulated the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) during council elections thereby subverting the will of the people.

    Responding, House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, assured the NULGE members that the House would do everything within its powers to ensure that the council areas were granted autonomy.

    The speaker, who was represented by his deputy, Yussuf Lasun, said local government councils should be free and autonomous as they bridge the gap between government and the people at the grassroots.

    He advised them to engage seasoned legal practitioners to study the Nigerian Constitution so as to explore all available opportunities to put in place the framework that will help to realise their quest.

  • FCT NULGE suspends three days warning strike

    FCT NULGE suspends three days warning strike

    The Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) FCT chapter, has suspended its three-day warning strike which began on Monday across the six area councils.

    Mr. Terry Isaac, the NULGE Secretary, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

    Isaac said that the union decided to suspend the strike after a meeting with the FCT Permanent Secretary.

    He said that the FCT administration agreed to pay the three months salary arrears it owed the area councils’ workers before the end of next week.

    “The management promised to pay one month salary within the week.

    “But we are of the opinion that they pay the three months together before the end of next week which they agreed.

    “We have endured for three months and we did not die and I believe we will not die before the end of next week.

    “My advice to the workers is that we should give them the benefit of the doubt and resume work from Tuesday,’’ he said.

    The secretary also said that failure to honour the agreement would lead to the union going on an indefinite strike.

  • Extend anti-graft probe to LG joint account – NULGE

    Extend anti-graft probe to LG joint account – NULGE

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    The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the anti-graft probe to the management of local government joint accounts in the 36 states of the federation.

    The call is contained in a statement issued by the President of the union, Mr. Ibrahim Khaleel in Kano on Tuesday.

    The statement quoted Khaleel as saying “the anti-corruption war cannot be complete without a searchlight on the management of the local government joint account system in the country.

    “In the area of corruption, a lot of breakthrough is being recorded as some culprits are being brought to book.

    “I, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the fight on anti-graft to the management of states and local government joint accounts across the 36 states of the federation.’’

    The Union boss also commended the Federal Government “for the concerted efforts to tame insurgency in the country.’’

     

  • NLC, NULGE call for local govt autonomy

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) have called for local government areas’ autonomy to liberate them from the grip of governors.

    The President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba and his NULGE counterpart, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, made the call at a roundtable discussion on Local Government Autonomy, organised by NULGE in Abuja, on Monday.

    Comrade Wabba enjoined NULGE to be steadfast and continue the struggle as the NLC will support the union to ensure that the autonomy of local government is granted.

    Wabba said: “I want to assure you that NLC will fully support and canvass for local government autonomy. Local governments must be allowed to use their funds. I want to urge you to continue the struggle. The local governments must be liberated.”

    Wabba said the issue of joint account should be looked into, arguing that the joint account has not served the purpose for which it was intended.

    His words: “If we all believe that the majority of our people live in local government areas, then that is where development is needed most. So, we will continue to canvas for autonomy. I am also happy that the current National Assembly, with some of their utterances and dispositions, we can also say we can have an ally in the area of strengthening local government administration and also canvassing for autonomy for local governments.”

    According to him, what NULGE has started is an initiative that will bring development closer to the people.

    Wabba said: “In the old good days when our local government system was very functional and effective, the issue of security, agriculture, the issue of providing  jobs for the teeming youths were actually being addressed. Therefore, we must return to the basics if we want to address the challenges in our economy, our polity or even in our social life.”

    He lamented the rate of unemployment, saying through an effective local government system, the agricultural sector can be reinvigorated to curb the menace.

    Khaleel said autonomy for local government system is not negotiable, calling for support from stakeholders to ensure the objective is achieved

    He noted that stronger financial autonomy for local governments would help to strengthen their activities, adding that the union was working assiduously to ensure that the constitutional reforms of local government system are formulated.

    Khaleel said the importance of the roundtable was to produce a rich policy document that would engage government and others in making the local government system stronger.

  • NUT, NULGE disassociate self from strike in Cross River

    The leaderships and members of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Cross River State Council and the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Cross River State wing have disassociated themselves from the strike action called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state.

    In a communiqué issued at the end of the state executive council (SEC) meeting of NULGE held on Friday, and signed by the state president, Comrade Godwin U. Ayendi, and secretary, Comrade Peace A. Chukwu, NULGE frowned at the action of NLC.

    While describing the strike action as untimely, it claimed that due process was not followed by the NLC before calling workers out on strike.

    It therefore, urged its members to disregard the directive by NLC to stay at home.

    “The SEC-In-Session frowned at the intended action of the Congress and resolved that members of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees would not participate in the strike reasons being that NULGE was not invited to the Nigeria Labour Congress and Public Service Negotiating Council (PSNC) before the strike action was taken. The SEC-in- session view the strike as untimely, as due process for the call for the strike action was not followed”

    NULGE asserted that though there are pending issues affecting staff of the union which need attention, it however disassociated itself from the purported strike action by NLC, and stressed the need for members to go about their normal duties without fear of molestation.

    It also urged the government to ensure the prompt payment of salaries of NULGE members and pensioners along side with their state counterparts.

    Comrade Ayendi said that the union with over 10,000 members in the state was not consulted nor invited to any of the meetings which the congress held to take decision to embark on the strike action and that the Friday.

    Similarly, in a letter dated September 29, 2015, with reference number: NUT/CRS/NLC/40/26, and signed by the state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Cross River Wing,  Elder Comrade Eyo-Nsa E. Itam, and the sate Secretary, Comrade Livinus Eta Omini, and copied to all the teachers in the state, NUT said its members will not take part in the strike action called out by the NLC even though it understands the position of the NLC.

    “The union has discovered that there was an enlarged meeting of Trade Union Congress, NLC and Public Service Negotiating Council on the 28th September, 2015 in which two bulletins were drawn, and NUT was not invited to the meeting. While the NUT appreciates the concerns on all the teething issues affecting workers in the state which are genuine, we regret the fact that our members would not be part of the proposed sit-at-home from Friday 2nd October, 2015”.

    NUT also posited that the sit-at-home ordered at this time is not healthy when the union has not provided the opportunity for the organized labour to meet with the new government, and that the issues submitted to NLC was not incorporated  among the demands in the bulletin, and called on the government to address the problem of discriminatory salary payment where other workers have been paid their September salary without teachers, and NULGE members.

    It commended the governor for his assurance that the affected workers will be paid by next week.

  • Stop tampering with local govts’ funds, NULGE urges governors

    Stop tampering with local govts’ funds, NULGE urges governors

    The National Union of Local Government Employees(NULGE) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sanction state governors allegedly tampering with the local government funds to checkmate the drift in the third-tier of government in the country.

    Speaking, the  National Vice President of NULGE, Mr OludareFamoofo, who is also the Southwest Chairman said: “Our Union is constrained to point out that the body language of Mr. President has not reflected in the way the governors are handling the Local Government Joint Accounts.It has always been like this but be a  party to making it to endure forever.

    He lauded the governor of Kaduna State, MallamNasir El Rufai  of his decision  not to tamper with the local government funds.

    Famoofo said: “ Nasir El- Rufai is the only governor that is doing the right thing by not tampering with local government funds.  We want to state categorically that part of the root causes of insurgency in Nigeria is the hijack of local government funds by state governors for a long time, thereby robbing the grassroots of real development.”