President of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ogun State Branch, Comrade Ayuba Olatunji has advocated for more vigorous advocacy and strategies for the amendment of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution that will guarantee and enable full autonomy for local governments, saying that an autonomous local governments system would provide essential services to the grassroots and enable it perform its constitutional responsibilities.
He attributed the near – collapse of the third tier of government to constitutional abuses/lacuna, excruciating administrative and political control heaped on Local Governments by State Governments therefore allowing the down trodden people in the rural settlements continue to languish in abject poverty and suffer from a denial of basic amenities.
Olatunji, who spoke at a media briefing today as part of activities to mark the State’s 2021 Union Week beginning from today, Friday 3rd to Sunday 12th December, 2021 held at the Union’s Secretariat, Quarry, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital clamored for full financial autonomy and freedom of Local Government Councils in Nigeria from the shackles of its oppressors.
He said, “The problems culminating into the general decline in the administration of Local Governments occasioned by the State Governments include continuous whittling of power of local authorities, excessive encroachment of State Government in areas of exclusive pressures of the Local Government, most especially LG funds in terms of Federal Allocation and Internally Generated Revenues and excessive politicking making modest progress of LG extremely difficult, if not impossible”.
“This agitation and continuous advocacy by NULGE for a Local Government that fulfils the objectives of the founding fathers for its establishment was informed by the general decline and depression in the administration of Local Government by respective State Governments, taking advantage of some constitutional lacuna in the 1999 Constitution of the country to undermine the smooth running of Local Government to the extent that LG generally are impoverished and unable to perform its constitutional responsibilities”, he stated.
Olatunji while expressing profound gratitude to the leaderships of the National Assembly, Ogun State Government and House of Assembly for their frantic efforts at ensuring that Local Governments regain its freedom specifically by assenting to the proposed bill the two times it was transferred to State House of Assembly by the National Assembly.
He thereafter called on National Assembly to expedite action on the recent debate to grant LG autonomy and onward transmission of the bill to State House of Assembly for immediate passage.
