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The National Union of Local government employees (NULGE) has urged the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democtaic Party, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar to speak out on their plans to ensure autonomy for local government areas in Nigeria .
The NULGE advised Tinubu and Atiku to engage NULGE and indeed Nigerians on how to achieve autonomy for the Councils.
The union however warned them against what it called “mutual conspiracy” to stifle lives out of the masses by denying local government autonomy.
National President of NULGE, Akeem Ambali stated this while speaking during a courtesy call by the National President of the Association of Ex-local government Chairmen of Nigeria, Hon Albert Asipa to the NULGE in Abuja.
Ambali said the union frowned at the reluctance of the duo of Atiku and Tinubu to make their positions on council autonomy known ” before and after their emergence as candidates”
He said “We are mobilising our members across the nation to begin advocacy visits to Houses of Assemblies throughout the country to push for council autonomy.
“We have come to the sad realisation that the criminal neglect of local government is the multiplier of poverty amongst the generality of our people. We must return nobility to our people by changing the narrative.”
He expressed disappointment that issues of power availability, insecurity, poverty alleviation and the need to reflate the prostrate economy were not critically addressed during the primaries that led to the emergence of the candidates.
He added that any candidate or party which is favourably disposed to council autonomy would have the sympathy of the workers at that level of governance.
Ambali, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ogun State however commended the President, Muhammad Buhari, for keeping faith with the establishment of the national financial intelligence unit (NFIU) in the EFCC to monitor local government funds.
Asipa had earlier called for a collaboration between ASELGON and NULGE for national and organisational development.
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