The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has warned the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) against attempting to undermine the recent Supreme Court judgment that grants complete financial autonomy to local government administrations nationwide.
NULGE cautions that any attempt to nullify or weaken this judgment would not be tolerated.
Speaking at the colloquium session of the 2nd National NULGE Week in Abuja, the union’s National President, Comrade Ambani Akerman Olatunji, said, “We want to sound a note of warning to members of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) who have initiated covert moves to thwart this judgment due to their insatiable appetite to continue misappropriating government funds.
“The time to put a stop to it is now. A financially strong, people-driven, people-centred local government is a democratic right of the Nigerian people. We must adopt a bottom-up approach to governance.
“Unless we do this, national development and growth will continue to elude Nigeria. It is unacceptable that a country so richly endowed with natural resources, abundant human capital, and fertile land should remain the poverty headquarters of the world.”
The colloquium, themed ‘Making Local Government Administration Work for Nigeria People’, was well attended by thousands of NULGE members, government officials, and trade union dignitaries. Discussions focused on transparency, accountability in financially autonomous local government structures, and the impact of local government autonomy on grassroots development and local funding.
Olatunji said, “Just last year we conceptualized the idea of celebrating the role and contributions of local government administration to public governance and national development. This celebration is here to stay. Within these two years, our prayers have been answered: our quest to liberate local government administration from state political control is now a reality.
“Let us appreciate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who took the bull by the horns and sought judicial interpretation and affirmation of the role and existence of an autonomous local government system in Nigeria. For 21 years, we pursued this goal through legislative channels, but the President, through his ingenuity, brought a new dimension to it. The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling has now put this matter to rest.
“We must rise to change the narrative, and we can only do that if we empower local governments to deliver the dividends of democracy.
“Local government is the most strategic, most relevant, and closest tier of government to the Nigerian people. Development cannot be achieved without a vibrant local government system.
“Local government is the vehicle through which growth and development can directly reach the Nigerian people.
“When you talk about poverty, infrastructure deficits, insecurity, and ineffective governance, much of it links back to the absence of functional sub-national governments. This vacuum has led to swathes of Nigerian territory becoming ungoverned and occupied by bandits and terrorists, with people unable to visit their villages safely. In some cases, people can’t even return to their ancestral homes without extreme caution.
“So, the time to reset Nigeria is now. The time to make local government work for the Nigerian masses is now. Local government bureaucrats are ready; we are well-trained, and we believe that with fiscal autonomy for local government, Nigeria will witness tremendous growth and progress.
“Let us stand up for our local government. Let us defend the downtrodden masses. Let us scale up infrastructure development at the local government level. Let us tackle insecurity in Nigeria’s rural communities and improve rural roads. Let us reduce poverty by creating vocational skill acquisition programs and empowerment opportunities for Nigerians. Once we do this, Nigeria will be on the path to greatness. The time to rework Nigeria is now. The time to rework local government is now. Fix local government, and you fix Nigeria.”
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