NULGE calls for abolition of SIECs

LOCAL government workers in Kwara State have called for the abolition of State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) saying that state governors have manipulated the state electoral body.

The workers, under the aegis of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), said that henceforth, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should conduct all elections in the country.

Speaking at the 40 years anniversary of the union in Ilorin on Thursday, the state president, Comrade Yusuf Salihu, reiterated the call for local government autonomy in the country, saying that the autonomy would enable optimal performance of local governments for benefit of both workers and entire citizenry.

The NULGE chief also accused state governors of making attempts to render local government system incapacitated, said that, “The state governors, who are visibly seen in this direction always see local government as insignificant and nothing good, for selfish reasons, has, therefore, done everything possible to render it impotent,” he said.

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Salihu, who also called for the abolition of state local government joint account, said that such account should be abolished for allocation due to local government could be paid directly to them without alleged interference from the state governments.

The NULGE officer, who described the local government as a government closer to the teeming population, adding that it was distanced from state and federal governments.

“Its strategic position is therefore meant to address the shortage of infrastructures and provide essential amenities that will make life worth living to the rural communities,” he said.