The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to track the monthly allocations to the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) between 2015 and 2023.
Buhari had accused governors of stealing funds meant for local governments.
The governors fired back at the president and accused him of failing in its statutory role of providing security of life and property.
Addressing newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday, the National President of NULGE, Akeem Ambali, said Buhari’s position showed the “real situation of things on local government funds.”
Ambali, who was flanked by the state’s NULGE Chairman, Ayuba Olatunji, and other officials, asked the president to go beyond allegations and track funds disbursed to LGAs under his watch.
He said, “I want to commend and challenge the president to track funds meant for local governments from 2015 to 2023. How much really gets to the local governments since the inception of his office in 2015 to 2023?”
Recall that Ambali had also immediately backed President Buhari when he took on the governors on local government funds.
Commenting on the alleged ruination of the LGA administration by governors, Ambali, said Buhari was merely stating the obvious.
He had, however, urged the President to go beyond the statement and compel the governors under his party, the All Progressives Congress, to sign the local government autonomy bill into law.
“He should go beyond that statement. He is the leader of the party, he should ask them to sign the autonomy into law; he is the leader of the governors,’’ Ambali urged Buhari.
He added that the development would encourage other governors from other parties to emulate them.
The gesture, he added, would show that they are leading by examples.
He further stated, “Local government funds have been misapplied and misappropriated. We want the President to have the good courage to take the bull by the horn.
“If the problems of poverty, insecurity, hopelessness and threat to the country needed to be addressed then, local governments must be granted full autonomy; that is the way to go.”
Ambali disclosed that a decision had been taken to vote for only a presidential candidate that declared support for local government autonomy.
He noted, “We also want all the presidential candidates to be sincere with Nigerians and state their stance on local government autonomy. Keeping mum will not help them and we have directed all our members to vote for any presidential candidate who openly declares support for local government autonomy and unfortunately, none of them has spoken on local government autonomy.
“The President should lead by example, he should ask APC governors to support local government autonomy; that one can demonstrate that the APC is a progressive party.
“Autonomy is the mindset of Mr. President and all of them must respect that, but, unfortunately, even Lagos voted against autonomy. If you are opposing local government autonomy, definitely, you have something to hide,’’ he concluded.
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