Workers under the aegis of National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend the ongoing fight against corruption to local government areas (LGAs) across the country.
Ibrahim Khaleal, NULGE president, who gave the charge during a chat with Yussuff Lasun, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, applauded to efforts by the National Assembly to grant autonomy to LGAs.
Khaleal, who applauded the political will demonstrated by the present administration to combat corruption, said: “We are of the opinion that the fight should be extended immediately.”
The NULGE president who described the visit as ’emancipation and freedom of Nigeria people,’ pass vote of confidence on the leadership of the House of Representatives, saying, “We believe that under your leadership, local government councils should be free and autonomous. The local government areas bridge the gap between government and the grassroots.”
He explained that the main challenges facing NULGE was the continuous encroachment and diversion of local government funds by the state governments and that the union would continue with the struggle for the emancipation of the LGAs.
According to him, the state governments imposed political structures at the council areas that most times negated the principle of democracy, alleging that the state governments manipulated the state Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), during council elections thereby subverting the will of the people.
In his remarks, Yussuff Lasun, Deputy Speaker who reiterated the resolve of the House to the actualisation of Local Government autonomy, urged the Union to engage seasoned legal practitioners to study the Nigerian Constitution so as to explore all the available opportunities to put in place the framework that will help to realise it.
He noted that the constitution of the country had given the right to legislate and create council areas on the state house of assembly, adding that if the constitution should recognise three tiers of government, the local government areas should be autonomous.
He said the state governments were holding unto the joint account to run the financiers of the council areas.
