Katsina NULGE Demands LG Autonomy

By Francis Sardauna

The Katsina State chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has admonished the state House of Assembly and government to grant full autonomy to local governments in the state.

The union also appealed to the state government to end the stagnation of local government workers by allowing them to progress to Level 16 as is obtainable in other states of the federation.

Addressing journalists in Katsina Wednesday, the state NULGE President, Nasiru Wada Mai’Adua, said the only way to ensure an inclusive government for all was to ensure the autonomy of the government that is closer to the grassroots.

He said: “We are calling on the state legislature to help us and give the local governments autonomous power for the local governments to be developed because without the autonomy of the local governments, there will be nothing to be achieved in the grassroots.”

He also demanded the immediate scrapping of the various State’s Independent Electoral Commission (SIECs) for local government elections in the country to be transparent and credible.

According to him, the mandate of conducting local government elections should be given to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for credible local government polls to thrive in the country.

The state NULGE president explained that the elections conducted by SIECs into the councils in most states of the federation were mere appointments and not democratic elections as provided for by the constitution.

“The state Independent Electoral Commission is the main reason why people have lost confidence in the election of local government but when you allow the INEC to conduct local government elections, it will bring sanity and credibility in the election,” he added.

He attributed the near-collapse of the local governments in Nigeria to the way and manner in which council chairmen are ‘selected’ rather than elected, stressing that they usually emerge through appointments devoid of credibility.