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Tag: NULGE

  • Ekiti NULGE gives govt 21-day ultimatum

    Ekiti state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the state government over unresolved welfare issues.

    The ultimatum was contained in a statement issued at the end of the union’s emergency meeting held in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital yesterday.

    Its chairman, Bunmi Ajimoko, in the statement signed by the association’s secretary, Mr Victor Adebayo, said the government ignored its advice “and decided to carry on with its activities without giving a thought to the problems of council workers”.

    Some of the issues, according to the statement, include implementation of Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).

    Ajimoko clarified “Nurses working at the councils take monthly salaries of about N70,000 lower than their counterparts in the state service”.

    Other grounds for grouse, according to the statement, include “Usurpation of Local Government in the area of running grants and functions by the Ministry of Local Government which is at variance with the operations of past administrations and Underfunding of the Local Government Service Commission and other Local Government agencies through an Act of Ekiti State House of Assembly to reduce its statutory grants from 5 per cent to 4 per cent without due recourse to public opinion and other relevant key stakeholders”.

     

  • Unions, commission bicker over biometrics

    Unions, commission bicker over biometrics

    Labour unions in Bayelsa State and the Local Government Service Commission (LGSC) are bickering on the ongoing staff biometrics for local government workers.

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and Medical Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) said the biometrics cost N250million.

    NULGE President Akpos Ekiagha and MHWUN Chairman Biu Josiah spoke in Yenagoa after an emergency joint meeting of the unions.

    They faulted the use of consultant to prepare the councils’ payrolls, adding that the development had rendered workers in the Account Department redundant.

    The duo said while the local councils were at the receiving end, the consultant smiled to the bank with over N40million monthly.

    The leaders appealed to Governor Seriake Dickson to rescind the contract, alleging that the services of the consultant were fraudulent and a conduit to drain state resources.

    They called for the removal of LGSC Chairman Talford Ongolo over alleged insensitivity to the plight of council workers.

    The duo also accused Ongolo of allegedly running the commission as a “sole administrator in flagrant abuse of the unified LG service rules”.

    They lamented that the chairman posted junior officials to head their seniors, thereby creating bad blood in the system.

    But Ongolo countered the claims, saying the biometric was introduced to ghost workers and truancy inherited by the present administration.

    He said the ongoing workers’ verification became imperative after a probe committee uncovered payroll fraud perpetrated with impunity by most senior employees of the local government system.

    He said before the biometrics was introduced, the commission consulted with NULGE and other stakeholders and agreed on modalities and the need for the exercise.

    Ongolo, who showed documents of the agreements which were jointly signed by the labour leaders, said persons opposing the exercise were beneficiaries of the old system.

    He observed that no reforms had been successfully conducted in any system without oppositions from with the old order.

    The Chairman insisted that the protest and blackmails  would not intimidate the commission from sanitising the local governments.

    Ongolo added that former principal officials of the councils were redeployed to the commission’s headquarters to allow for thorough prosecution of the reforms.

    He added that some junior workers were selected, trained and deployed to take over the positions of the principal officers in acting capacities.

    He said the commission was addressing some of the challenges it identified in the biometric, adding that the verification had impacted positively on the employees’ attitude to work.

  • NULGE supports autonomy for local govts

    The National President, Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, has said for the third tier of government to be active and proactive in its activities, it must be free and autonomous.

    He said a platform must be created    to organise them to harness all available human and material resources within their domains for the enhancement of their standard of living.

    “I think our position is well known to all Nigerians and it has not changed from our long time of struggles to emancipate the local government system from the tyranny of the state governors.

    “Our position is that we really want the local governments to be free; we need local governments that will address the aspiration and yearnings of our rural people. We need local governments that will deliver; local governments that can stand the test of time; local governments where the issue of unemployment can be addressed through tapping local talents.

    Khaleel said for the LGAs to achieve their objectives, there must be an inclusive and a democratic system of governance where the people or communities that make up the councils must be the helm of affairs and be seen to have a stake in the system.

    He added: “We want local governments where every member of the community will be a stakeholder committed to the development and aspiration of his area.

    On the National Conference, he said the best way to address Nigeria’s problems was having inclusive local governments, stating that every member of the community will understand his roles and importance in the administration of the government.

    His words: “The best way to address Nigeria’s problems is by having inclusive local governments. This means that every member of the community will realise his importance and  his role in administering the local government, not a caricature system of local government that we have been experiencing since 1999 till date.”

    He continued: “The system of local government that will work for this country is the only answer to the problems of our divisive nature; diversity in ethnicity, religion and in many other ways. The essence of creating local governments is to address the differences. “And even the structures we have as state governments cannot adequately address and manage the aspirations and yearnings of different groups within a particular state. Those differences will be better addressed under the system of local government where smaller communities are merged.

    “This is our focus and we really believe that for any government to work properly or deliver, you  must have an articulate public service structure, that is why as part of our agitations, the civil service of the local government, we believe, must also have some degree of independence by way of having a constitutional framework that would guarantee the existence and independence of the local government service commission that will manage the activities of civil service of the local government.”

    Meanwhile, NULGE has rejected the recommendations by the Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government for Local Government Areas to be turned into administrative units rather than a federal entity.

    President of Yobe State chapter of NULGE, Comrade Musa El-Badawy, said the local governments should continue to remain a federating unit as recognised by the 1999 Constitution. He pointed out that turning them into an administrative unit would subject the system to the excruciating control of the state assemblies.

    El-Badawy urged the committee not to temper with the views of Nigerians who were overwhelmingly in support of local government autonomy at a recent public session held by the National Assembly in the federal constituencies.

    “The union knows that the issue of local government is an almost settled matter through various past efforts. The National Conference can only build on this and adopt it for a grand norm in Nigeria and not to sabotage or put the country in a reverse gear through its positions,” he said.

     

  • ‘Credible polls produce legitimate governments’

    ‘Credible polls produce legitimate governments’

    A Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Democracy Vanguard (DV), has said the legitimacy of governments is based on the credibility of elections.

    At a sensitisation workshop tagged: “One-man/woman-one-vote” and the public presentation of the Voter’s Handbook in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, DV National Coordinator Comrade Adeola Soetan said the process through which political office holders emerge “must be sanctified to endow it with the needful credibility status”.

    At the event were Ekiti State Chairman, Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayodeji Aluko; notable theatre practitioner Mr. Bayo Bankole; representative of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mrs. Maureen Arinze; DV National Publicity Secretary Sina Odugbemi; State Chair, Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Bunmi Ajimoko and former National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Olusegun Mayegun.

    Speaking on “The diminished interest of the electorate in the exercise of voting”, Soetan said: “The only legitimate process for putting genuine representatives of the people in government is the election.

    “The electoral process, its freeness and fairness, is what gives government legitimacy and guarantees genuine representative democracy. Consequently, free, fair and credible election devoid of fraud, manipulation, violence and rigging is a condition precedent to genuine democracy and participatory government.

    “Voters should assert themselves with credible deployment of the power of their thumbs, as only this can remove unscrupulous politicians from the political space.

    He said DV is a non-partisan institution, which owes “allegiance to the electorate”.

    DV State Coordinator Miss Yetunde Fagbemigun said elections have continued to “fail” the people because the electorate have continuously shown a disappointing level of apathy and misplaced concern during voting, adding: “This is the reason DV has partnered the electorate to better their performance at elections, starting with the coming one.”

    INEC representative Mrs. Arinze said the conduct of politicians towards the 21 June governorship election would determine the credibility of the election.

    Speaking on: “Ekiti Election: Following the Rules of the Game”, Mayegun said: “INEC has been constitutionally empowered to conduct elections in Nigeria, but we have to admit that that (conducting elections) is possible only with the cooperation of all stakeholders, who include teachers, students, bankers, lawyers, traders, all segments and sections of the society.”

    Mayegun said electoral reform should include poverty alleviation, adding: “We cannot be speaking about reforming the electoral process if and when a large percentage of the people are unemployed.”

  • LG autonomy: NULGE seeks partnership with PSI

    LG autonomy: NULGE seeks partnership with PSI

    President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, has called on Public Service International (PSI) to collaborate with the union to strengthen the local government system in Nigeria.

    Khaleel made the appeal when the General Secretary of PSI, Rosamaria Pavanelli, who was on a working visit in Nigeria visited NULGE’s headquarters in Abuja.

    Khaleel said: “Our members are spread across the country and play a very great role in stabilising the country but we face many constraints both constitutional and unfortunately, because of the greed of governors, local governments are finding it difficult to operate.

    “But we must work together to make it strong and viable. The local government is the only hope the rural populace have with regards to good governance and opportunities. However, we are hopeful of a positive future.

    “In November 2012, the National Assembly organised public hearings across the length and breadth of the nation and the outcome is that support for autonomy is almost 98 per cent. Our agitation is gathering momentum.

    “For that reason, we call on the PSI to join in the struggle to emancipate the local government system because it is the one closest to the people and the only tier of government where real masses have access to governance.”

    On her part, Sister Rosamaria pledged to work with NULGE to ensure that the local government remains financially autonomous for it to carry out its functions

    “We, at the PSI, are in contact with the ILO to develop a new line of activity for the strengthening of the local governments,” she said.

  • Nasarawa NULGE threatens strike

    The Nasarawa State chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has threatened to go on strike from July 3, if the state government fails to meet its demands. The state NULGE had issued a 21-day ultimatum to the state government on May 24. It expired yesterday.

    But the union extended the ultimatum by seven working days after its executive meeting in Lafia on Tuesday.

    The union’s state President, Eladoga Adamu, and Secretary, Kosovo Aga, signed the statement, which was made available to The Nation yesterday in Lafia, the state capital.

    The statement said the union’s demands have been pending, following its notification to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Sani Yakubu, on May 24, during a courtesy visit to his office.

  • NULGE: Court adjourns suit till Sept 18

    The National Industrial Court, Lagos Division has adjourned till September 18 a suit by Comrade Adewale Yussuf against of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).

    The plaintiff sued NULGE, its National President Alhaji Ibrahim Khaleel, National Secretary Comrade Joshua Irapakob, Lagos State President Comrade Lasisi Akinsanya and State Secretary Comrade Muyiwa Cole.

    The second claimant, Comrade Adenike Akitoye, withdrew from the case “for personal reasons”. The court consequently struck out her name.

    Yussuf is urging the court to hold that the state delegates’ conference/election of the NULGE Lagos State chapter must not be held except by prior compliance with the provisions of the association’s 2005 constitution.

    He asked the court to declare that Irapakob cannot organise any state delegates conference/election except by observing all the constitutional pre-conditions.

    The claimant urged the court to hold that the present executive’s tenure ended on October 11, last year, and that no member of the state executive is entitled to remain in office a day longer.

    He is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from conducting or holding any state delegates conference/election in the Lagos State NULGE except after full and strict compliance with the conditions specified in the association’s Constitution.

    Yussuf is praying the court to nullify the state delegate conference/election held in Lagos on October 11 last year at the Conference Hall of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry for not complying with the Constitution.

    He sought the court’s order directing NULGE to organise a new state delegate’s conference/election for Lagos in compliance with the association’s laws.

    At the last hearing, the claimant, through his lawyer, Miss N. O. Musa, sought the court’s order for leave to amend their General Form of Complaints, State of Fact, Written Statement on Oath and additional documents to be relied on at the trial.

    In an affidavit in support of the motion, the claimant said since the filing of the suit, new facts have emerged which makes the amendments compulsory so as to help the court determine the case.

    “The state delegates’ conference/election fixed for 11th of October, 2012, which the claimants/applicants want this court to stop has since been held and concluded.

    “Series of events have also taken place since the filing of this case which must be brought to the attention of the honourable court,” the claimant said.

    Defence counsel John Nwankwo said the defendants were unable to respond to the suit after the second claimant informed them she was withdrawing from the suit for personal reasons.

     

  • Alleged N14.56m fraud: Court jails NULGE chairman, secretary

    A judge of Taraba State High Court in Jalingo, Justice Filibus Andetur, yesterday jailed a former Chairman of Yorro Local Government Area branch of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Maigari Bello Ibrahim and Assistant Secretary, Alhaji Sani A. Mazang, for nine years for conspiracy and criminal breach of trust, contrary to Sections 97 and 315 of the Penal Code.

    According to a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the convicts were first arraigned on July 27, 2011.

    The statement said: “Their arrest and subsequent arraignment was sequel to a petition by a new generation bank which they allegedly defrauded to the tune of N14.56m.

    “The bank, sometime in 2007, allegedly offered the union a loan facility to purchase motorcycles for its members with the agreement that the facility would be repaid through monthly deductions from the beneficiaries’ salaries for a period of 18 months; and the deducted sum remitted to the bank.

    “At the expiration of the repayment period the bank discovered that the accused persons had used their official positions to divert some of the deductions to their persona use.

    “In his ruling, Justice F. Andetur held that the two accused persons erred in their duties as responsible officials of the council, by misappropriating funds held in trust.

    “He therefore found them guilty as charged.

    “Although counsel to the accused persons, Hadi B. Nguroje pleaded for mercy on behalf of his clients, Abubakar Aliyu, prosecution counsel urged the court to do justice as the law demands.

    “In sentencing the accused persons, Justice Andetur, said he had taken cognizance of the plea and position of the law.

    “He therefore sentenced them to 2 years each on the 1st count and 7 years on count 2 respectively.

    Alternatively, they are to pay a fine of N25, 000 and N50, 000 on counts 1 and 2 respectively.”

     

  • Shun confrontation with govt, NULGE Ogun chapter told

    THE national body of the National Union of Local Government Employees(NULGE) has advised its Ogun State chapter not to be “anti – government” or “confrontational” in the way it goes about seeking solutions to whatever issues it has with the state government.

    NULGE in Ogun had been threatening strike over alleged “inability to pay all deductions made from workers’ salaries to relevant purses such as cooperative societies, check-off dues of industrial unions in the local governments, inability to pay leave bonuses for over a year and non-remittance of 15 per cent pension deductions in most local governments.

    But the national body, noting that it cherishes “peaceful atmosphere” and desires same for the local branch to enable members function productively,” said Ogun NULGE should employ the principle of collective bargaining to resolve their grievances with the state government.

    The Head of Education and Training, National Secretariat, Abuja, Com. Jennifer Besong, gave the advice after inaugurating the seven – man Caretaker Committee to oversees the affairs of Ogun NULGE in the next three months.

    She told Committee headed by Akinleye Benedict Bosun and Com. Dotun Oshunlaja(Treasurer) that it should strive to resolves the union’s issues with the government through dialogue and collective bargaining instead and not resort to confrontations.

     

  • NULGE urges states to conduct council polls

    NULGE urges states to conduct council polls

    The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has urged the state governments to conduct the local government elections as prescribed by the 1999 Constitution.

    The association also reiterated its demand for council autonomy, stressing that it will make the local governmet more productive.

    NULGE complained that the hands of the state governments are heavy on the fledgling councils in terms of financial control, making them to perform below expectation.

    Currently, there are agitations for the conduct of council elections in Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo, Delta, Anambra states. In fact, since 1999, local government elections have npt been held in Anambra State.

    NULGE said in a statement in Abuja: “The people are denied the dividends of democracy at the grassroots. They lack the opportunity for the election of leaders and change of government at the local areas”.

    The association urged the National Assembly, which is currently reviewing the constitution, to grant autonomy to the local government so that it can discharge its duties to the local people.

    It added: “ Grassroots democracy is absent when the freedom of political choice cannot be exercised according to the law. Many states have breached the 1999 Constitution by refusing to conduct local government elections”.