Local government workers in Kogi State poured out to the streets of Lokoja on Monday in support of autonomy for local government.
Labour unions comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) as well Medical Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) led the workers in peaceful rally in Lokoja to drum supports for local government autonomy in Nigeria.
Members of the unions and workers who carried placards and banners with various inscriptions, marched from the state’s NLC office all the way to the state House of assembly where union officials submitted a letter containing their demands to the House speaker, Matthew Kolawole.
State chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Onuh Edoka in an address appealed to the members of the 36 state assemblies to vote overwhelmingly in support of local government autonomy as already done by the National Assembly.
Edoka lamented that the third tier of government had over the years suffered high level underdevelopment and deprivation in the areas of education, primary healthcare delivery, social amenities and payment of salaries to local government workers/primary school teachers, amongst others due to the unfettered control of state governors on local government affairs.
Edoka said, “Local government is one tier of government that had not been allowed to exist on its own, 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 shortchanging will make it clear that our own brothers and sisters who are from our various local governments have shortchanged 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.
“Whether we like it or not, we are politically stocked, whether we like it or not, we are financially shortchanged, whether 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 was brought before them.
“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 shortchange us and go behind and order them not to vote,” he said.
On his part, the President of NULGE in the state, Comrade Tade Adeyemi said granting full autonomy to the local government areas in the country would engender rapid development at the grassroots and ensure prompt payment of salaries to workers.
Responding after receiving the letter from the union officials, Speaker Matthew Kolawole assured them of the support and commitment of the assembly to the issue of autonomy for local government, saying that they will “do the needful” when the bill comes to them.
He said the assembly will not do anything that will jeopardise the overall interest of their teeming constituents at the grassroots.
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