By Tony Okafor, Awka
The Anambra State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has commended President Bola Tinubu for his role in granting financial autonomy to local governments in Nigeria.
Anambra State NULGE President Comr Chikweli Adigwe who praised the president’s political will in that respect, stated that it would enhance efficiency and effectiveness in delivering public services and fostering grassroots development.
Addressing NULGE members during a rally at the union’s Secretariat in Awka, the Anambra State capital on Monday, Adigwe emphasized that local governments had been “strangulated” by state governors, unable to perform their functions due to constitutional lacunae.
He blamed the country’s insecurity on the lack of local government structure, noting that state governors cannot provide security to remote areas.
Adigwe extolled President Tinubu, National Assembly members, and NULGE National President Comr. Ambali Akeem for liberating local government workers from backwardness and underdevelopment.
He urged the public to support the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commission, Joint Account and Allocation Committee, and appointment of transition committee chairmen, deemed illegal and unconstitutional.
State Secretary, Comr. Andrew Okoro, hailed the Supreme Court’s judgement as a victory for good governance, rule of law, transparency, and accountability.
He noted that local government autonomy would bring democracy to the grassroots, enabling local governments to manage their finances and improve constituents’ lives.
The rally was a show of support for local government autonomy, with NULGE calling for the scrapping of SIEC and other structures deemed obstacles to true grassroots governance.
Recall that the Supreme Court had about a week ago stripped governors of financial control over councils.
The apex court freed the third tier from the control of the state governments by restraining governors from further managing or utilising allocations meant for it.
It held in a judgment that it was wrong for a state government to retain and utilise local governments’ statutory allocations paid through them.
