President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Hakeem Ambali, has accused the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Governor Kayode Fayemi, of sponsoring plans to scuttle the passage of local government autonomy across the states of the federation.
He also warned that posterity will judge harshly any governor who chooses to be a stumbling block on the way of the deserving progress Nigeria and its citizens stand to gain from restoration of local government administrations through its operation as an autonomous entity.
Ambali, who lauded the National Assembly for taking the path of honour to vote in favour of autonomy for LG, further said that NULGE has been informed of clandestine moves by state governors to truncate the process at the State Houses of Assembly.
Recall that the National Assembly had on Tuesday, voted in favour of full autonomy for local government councils in the country, a development that has allegedly angered state governors who collect funds on their behalf from the federation account.
Although the National Assembly has passed it, it will require 2/3 majority of the State Houses of Assembly to also pass it.
Ambali, who noted that the struggle for the granting of full autonomy to local governments has been a long standing one, said some National Assembly members were pressured and threatened by governors not to support the idea.
He also said when the autonomy takes full effect, development would trickle down to the local government councils who are at the grassroots.
Addressing the media at a press conference in Abuja to commend the legislature on Wednesday, Ambali said, “We are here to send our words of appreciation to the National Assembly. We know it has been a herculean task to see that this passage comes through. We know definitely that any patriotic Nigerian agrees that for too long the local government system has been under bondage and there is a need to fix it and that once we do that we will all be happy.
“So we appreciate what the NASS has done and we are not unmindful of the threats facing them. This struggle is not a demand for minimum wage but a demand for better Nigeria. For so many years nothing is functional at the LG level.
“If you want to see poverty and gloom, go to the rural areas. In the past, the food that fed the country came from the local governments, there were functional administrative structures such that insecurity was not there, we had a way of engaging local vigilantes who ensured we had a safe environment.
“Today Nigeria has descended into this sorry situation, despite the fact that it is the first point of interaction between the people and the government.
“We therefore call on members of the State Houses of Assembly to vote in favour of this bill. We would ensure that we track the voting pattern of every honourable member, to make sure they answer to their own name individually. We will track those who vote against this bill, so we want them to be courageous enough and rescue the local government system because a vote for autonomy is a vote for development.
“This is also sending a note of warning to the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Kayode Fayemi, that local government workers are monitoring any clandestine moves that they are making.”