By Jennifer John
The chairman, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Comrade Okechukwu Okere has revealed that the unjust treatment being meted on local government workers elicited his interest in the leadership of the association.
Comrade Okere made this revelation while interacting with members of Ngor Okpala Journalists Association, who paid him a courtesy visit in his office recently.
The Imo NULGE chairman said he never had interest in NULGE leadership, “Until the point when local government, as the third tier of government was relegated and we were no longer being treated as part of the civil service”.
He emphasized on the importance of local government autonomy, which he sees as the easiest way of curbing insecurity and underdevelopment at the grassroots level, positing that local government being close to the rural areas, know their needs, better than the state government which most times give them things that are not top in their priority list.
“We are solidly behind President Tinubu in this issue of Local Government autonomy. If we get autonomy, we will be liberated from a lot of entanglements. That is one of the priorities of the current union leadership, and we are collaborating with the national headquarters in this regards”.
On the scheduled September, 21 local government election, the NULGE chairman urged political parties to start now to do what they are expected to do which includes; Educate and sensitize the masses, field candidates, engage in campaigns, bring out their manifestos, adding, “Then it will be the responsibility of the people to go out and vote on election day”.
While calling on all hands to be on deck to guarantee a fair local government election Okere promised that as a union, the executive will sensitize their members who are usually used as Electoral Officers, not to give in to manipulations during the conduct of the LGA election in the state.
He listed some of the programmes and target of NULGE leadership to include; interface with the state government to guarantee payment of gratuities and pension to their retired members, to ensure that their members who have not been receiving salaries start receiving their salaries, ensure completion of the association’s secretariat that has been under construction, work assiduously to guarantee regular promotion of their members, as well as ensure the restoration of the yearly incremental date of every July for workers that has been abandoned.
Comrade Okere however said the leadership has been sensitizing their members (the Local Government workers) to go to work on regular basis and take responsibilities, so their importance and relevance in the system will never be in doubt.
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