NULGE declares “no retreat no surrender” on LG autonomy
The National President of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Olatunji Ambali has called for the removal of the provision for Joint Allocation Account Committee (JAAC) in the new constitutional amendment by the national assembly.
The President stated this in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital while declaring the first NULGE National Women Conference open on Tuesday. With the theme “The role of women in egendaring peace and security”
Joint Allocation Account Committee was established in each state of the Federation as well as the Capital Territory to ensure that allocations made to Local Government Councils in the State from the Federal Account and from the State concerned are promptly paid into the State Joint Local Government Account, distributed to Local Government Councils in accordance with the provisions of any law made by the House of Assembly of the State, monitor the payment and distribution of the allocation to ensure that each Local Government Council gets what is due it.
Comrade Ambali who blamed the problem to the lacuna in the 1999 constitution which made provision for state and local joint account which allows the state governor to receive allocation on behalf of the local government and only give the local government Chairmen paltry sum which is not enough for the development of the rural area.
The President noted that financial autonomy for the local government will allow for the provision of basic amenities such as electricity, pipe borne water, education and security of lives and property of the people in the rural areas.
He posited that to ensure the development of the rural areas, local government allocation must be sent directly to the local government account and not through the state joint account.
According to the NULGE boss, the local government is the closest government to the people in the grassroots and therefore should be well funded in order to carter for the need of the people.
He attributed the prevalent insecurity in the country to poor funding of the local government system and lack of the basic social amenities, stressing that to curb the menace of insecurity in Nigeria full autonomy must be granted the local government.
While also demanding for political autonomy of the local government where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be allowed to conduct the local government election, he believes that elections conducted by INEC will make for free, fair and credible elections where the people will people will be free to elect candidates of their choice into the local government system.
He described elections conducted by the state as a mere “selection of political jobbers and misfits” into different positions sin the local government
