NULGE asks Kwara State Governor, Lawmakers to quicken process for LG autonomy

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Kwara State has asked Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and state House of Assembly members to speed up the process required for total autonomy of the local government system in the state.

The state President of NULGE, Comrade Oyinlade Seun Adeleye, who stated this at a press conference in Ilorin on Wednesday, urged Governor AbdulRazaq to break his silence on the vexed issue of local government autonomy.

It said the local government, as the constitutionally recognized third tier of government, should be independent of administrative and financing.

Adeleye, who described local government autonomy as the catalyst for the security of lives and property and development at the grassroots, maintained that the third tier of government cannot be an appendage of the state government.

“It is our plea to Kwara State Governor to, in conjunction with the state House of Assembly, expeditiously speed up the process required for Kwara to be listed among the comity of States that respect the wishes of the people at the grassroots, which local government autonomy symbolizes.

“We also wish to use this opportunity to call on the Governor of Kwara State to break his long silence on the vexed issue of local government autonomy.

“Our Governor must rise and invest in the trust of the Kwarans majority to write his name in gold by aligning himself with true democrats and progressives.

“Local government autonomy is the catalyst to the development. We are discussing security situations, food security, and human security.

“If the local government’s autonomy is in place, all these things will be straightforward. We are not an appendage of the state government. 

“The law recognizes us as the third tier of government. All what we are doing benefits the generality of everybody. It is not to our own benefit because we want development at the grassroots level,” he said.

The state NULGE President also threatened members of the state House of Assembly opposing the autonomy of the local government, saying that members of the union would mobilise against them in the forthcoming general elections.

Adeleye also told the lawmakers not to pay lip service to the autonomy of the local government system because people at the grassroots deserve a quality life.

He added, “This is the right time to do what is needed because this is when they can listen to us. They need us very much now.

“If they (Members of the State House of Assembly) decided not to vote for local government autonomy, we will also decide not to vote for them.

“They need us now; we all belong to wards and polling booths. We are going to show and prove our worth to them.”

He thanked the leadership and members of the National Assembly for passing the bill granting local government autonomy.

S.O