The National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Imo, has said that the local government autonomy will facilitate the welfare of local government employees.
The Chairman of NULGE, Comrade Charles Okere, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Owerri, on Thursday, while reacting to the Supreme Court ruling which granted financial autonomy to Local Government tier.Okere, who hailed the judgment, said that mistakes made in the payroll of workers could be rectified quickly and without much ado at the local government level rather than at the state level.He added that the judgment would facilitate projects execution according to peculiarities as local councils would have an easier focus on priority projects according to needs assessment.
“The judgment is a welcome development even though it only guarantees financial autonomy as administrative responsibility toward the local council still rests with the state assembly.“It will facilitate workers welfare, and aid the execution of priority projects according to needs assessment,” he said.Also reacting, President -General of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), the apex sociopolitical youth group in the South East geopolitical zone, Mr Goodluck Ibem, said that local government autonomy would deepen Nigeria’s democracy.He commended the Supreme Court of Nigeria for the “landmark judgment” and urged Nigerians and relevant stakeholders to key in at once.“By this judgement, the Supreme Court has returned governance back to the people in line with the vision of the 1999 constitution.“All governors should immediately conduct Local Government Elections in accordance to the Supreme Court Judgement and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.“We call on the National Assembly to amend the constitution to ensure that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conduct Local Government elections.“The amendments should include that the tenure of LG Chairmen must be three years as enshrined in the constitution.“We call on the Economic Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, ICPC, NFIU and other anti-crime agencies to monitor all allocations to the local governments to ensure that their funds were used for the purpose and benefit of the people,” he said. (NAN)
