LG employees' protests ground Kwara, Taraba over fiscal autonomy

MEMBERS of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, North-East Zone, yesterday, crippled activities in Jalingo, Taraba State, demanding fiscal and financial autonomy for local governments.
This came as council workers across the 16 local government councils in Kwara State, shut down Ilorin, the state capital, demanding local government autonomy, among others.
The protest, led by the state chapter of NULGE, crippled all economic and social activities while it lasted.
In a long convoy of buses and other vehicles, the protesters moved from Zango to Post Office area, and later to the Metropolitan Square before going to the state House of Assembly to express their grievances to the Speaker, Mr. Ahmad Ali.
They displayed placards with inscriptions such as “Stop unconstitutional deductions from our allocations,” “We want full local government autonomy in Kwara,” “Take a cue from Governor el-Rufai of Kaduna State” among others.
In Taraba State, the six states of the North-East that converged in Jalingo included Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states.
Addressing members of NULGE at Jalingo Trade Fair Complex, the National President NULGE, Ibrahim Kahlim, said the demand for autonomy by NULGE was to make the local government functional as the third tier of the government.
The Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly, Mr. Peter Diah, while addressing the protesters, said though the local government autonomy was long overdue, there were grey areas the National Assembly should address before granting the autonomy.
The Speaker lauded NULGE for its peaceful protests across the six geo-political zones and urged other organised unions in the country to emulate NULGE.