Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has reiterated the need for autonomy for local governments in the country.
NULGE National President, Mr Akeem Olatunji, made the call during a prayer programme organised by the union at the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) on Thursday in Abuja.
Olatunji said that even though the autonomy bill had been passed there was need for full implementation to address the issue of stealing from the account of the third tier of government.
He, however, alleged that the Joint Account Allocation Committee for states and councils had become a conduit pipe for stealing money meant for the third tier of government.
Olatunji also said that the appointment of surrogates and political jobbers into leadership positions in the councils was not acceptable.
”The root of the security and socio-economic challenges facing the country is traceable to the mismanagement of the local government system by state governors.
“We need a politically-free and financially dependent local government administration.
“The local government has been raped over time.
“It has witnessed systematic destruction as a result of misrule and stealing of local government funds, thereby militating against progressive development at the grassroots level.
“No wonder as of today, we are bedevilled by insecurity and poverty.
“We are deprived and also encumbered by unemployment, homelessness just because we have a failing system in the local government.”
He said that the councils did not create the failure.
“It was fostered on the local governments by state political actors led by the governors in this country.
“Money meant for growth and development, and dividends of democracy were diverted.
“They are doing that because of the lacuna in the 1999 constitution under section 162 that created Joint Account Allocation Committee that has turned to a conduit pipe through which money meant for development and growth is being siphoned,” he said.
The NULGE president noted that it was time to fix the local government administration in the country and that council elections should not be conducted by state electoral bodies.
He said that the polls conducted by the state agencies were not acceptable to Nigerians, describing the exercise as a charade.
“And we say it is time to fix Nigeria; it is time to fix the local government system. Once you fix the local government, you fix Nigeria.
”Over 80 per cent of Nigerian problems are traceable to denial, administrative misrule and stealing of local government funds.
“Once you are able to achieve local government autonomy, all these problems shall cease automatically.
“Let the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conduct local government elections.
”The charade being called local government elections across the states are not acceptable to Nigerians; they are not transparent, they are not democratic.
“The appointment, coronation and promotion of surrogates and political jobbers to man the leadership position in local government are no longer acceptable.
“We want a transparent process,” he added.
Earlier, Mr Abdullahi Adamu, AMAC Chairman, also called for LG autonomy.
Adamu said that prayer alone cannot give the needed result for the LG autonomy but only if all came together to do the right thing.
”Everything is not prayer; in fact, we pray too much in the country,” he said.
