LG autonomy: NULGE demands constitution amendment

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to back his promises with action on issue of local government autonomy. The NULGE, weekend, also demanded immediate constitutional amendment, “if that is what is required to achieve the desired autonomy for local governments and free them from the apron of […]

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to back his promises with action on issue of local government autonomy.
The NULGE, weekend, also demanded immediate constitutional amendment, “if that is what is required to achieve the desired autonomy for local governments and free them from the apron of the 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 on several fora promised to ensure the autonomy of local government as the third tier of government in the country.
During the visit of the leadership of the ALGON, last week, the president said that his administration would support a constitutional amendment to free local governments from the stranglehold of states.
While promising that this would better the lot of Nigerians at the community level, Buhari said that a constitutional amendment was required to define the relationship among the three tiers of government.
However, while speaking in Abuja, the President of NULGE Ibrahim Khaleel, said that the union and the organised labour would join hands with the president and support him in his efforts to liberate the third tier of government from the state governors.
The NULGE President 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 this 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 machinery in motion to ensure financial autonomy of local governments.