The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) yesterday called on president Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a reputable auditors to carry out forensic auditing of State and local government joint account in the last ten years.
National President of NULGE, comrade Ibrahim Khaleel who made the demand in Abuja, said this is necessary since there is little or nothing on ground in the 774 Local Governments to show for the huge resources allocated to States
over the years.
According to the NULGE President, a recommendation by APC Governor forum that local government be removed from the Constitution as third tier of Government is a dubious political project.
Khaleel who spoke with Journalists after its National Executive Council meeting, said the exercise by the APC Governors was nothing but a charade that will be challenge by the union.
“We wish to also use this opportunity to also call on Mr President to break his long silence on the vexed issue of Local Government Autonomy. Mr President must rise above the perceived political capital in the governors and invest in the trust at the Nigerian majority whom he had promised in his inaugural address on May 29, 201 5 that his Government was not going to told its arms and close its to the travesty of Governance that was going on in the States and Local Governments, joint account.
“Beyond fulfilling his promise to restore sanity in the operations of Local Governments by State Governors, it is our belief in NULGE that Mr President should also use his administrative powers to appoint reputable auditors to carry out forensic auditing of State-Local Government joint accounts in at least the last ten years”.
Speaking further, comrade Khaleel said the union to demonstrate it’s resolved for a free local government has finalize planned to mobilise it’s chapters nationwide to use the autonomy bills as barometer for election at all levels in the forthcoming general elections.
“To demonstrate our commitment to the quest for autonomy of Local Governments, NULGE is at the verge of opening another chapter in this struggle. If indeed the representatives in of the people in a number of State Houses of Assembly are not inclined to do the will of their people as demonstrated by members of the National Assembly going beyond merely advocating but actually voting for Local Government autonomy; we will have no other option than to resolve to vigorously mandate all chapters of our Union to use passage of the autonomy bills as a barometer for election at all levels in the forthcoming general elections.
“As we speak, our members in the 774 Local Governments across the nation are on standby waiting for instructions to engage with members of State Houses of Assembly from State constituencies and to mobilise against those standing against Local Government autonomy.
“While we do not harbour any negative thoughts about achieving our mission of achieving the desired goal of getting autonomy, we are however confident of one thing: that we will continue to be in the frontline of the agitation for the freedom of the Local Government System until we attain victory
