Hundreds of local government workers in Kogi state under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), on Monday marched through Lokoja, the state capital, demanding for local government autonomy.
The workers, many of who gathered at the office of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) as early as 8am, also submitted their demands to the speaker of the state house of assembly, Matthew Kolawole.
Addressing the people before the commencement of the peaceful rally, the NLC chairman in the state, Onuh Edoka, tasked the 36 state houses of assembly to support the struggle for local government autonomy.
He also stated that while implementing the policy, teachers’ salaries should be on first line charge and that of other workers given priority.
Edoka said, “Local government is one tier of government that had not been allowed to exist on its own, I am happy that NLC has thrown its weight to autonomy for local government, today we have come under one umbrella to ensure that the struggle for local government autonomy is achieved.
“Now that local government autonomy had been entrenched in the constitutional amendment, it is now left for the 36 state houses of assembly to complete what the national assembly has done, it is now clear that the national assembly has supported autonomy, any short-changing will make it clear that our own brothers and sisters who are from our various local governments that have short-changed us.
“It is not just voting for autonomy alone, they should vote for autonomy to give us political emancipation, financial autonomy at the local government level.
“We like it or not, we are politically stocked, we like it or not we financially short-changed, we like it or not we are financially handicapped. What we are asking for is liberty, not the kind you give with one hand and take from the other hand.”
The NLC chairman appealed to members of the state house of assembly to give the amendment accelerated passage whenever it is brought before them.
He said, “We are only begging our elder brothers in the assembly in Kogi state to toe the line of the national assembly and vote for autonomy, we are not unaware of a situation where such is passed to the state assembly and the governor will short-change us and go behind and order them not to vote.”
Edoka also tasked the state government to pay the salary of local government workers that were still being owed, noting that many of them were suffering as they had not been paid for many months.
The state president of NULGE, Tade Adeyemi, said the state chapter was in support of the steps taken by the national secretariat of the union.
He also lauded the national assembly over the decision to vote for autonomy at the local government level, saying that the move would engender development at the third tier of government.
The speaker of the assembly however expressed the commitment of the house to the proposal, adding that the house would support the struggle to free the local government as a tier of government.
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