Labour Institute DG Makes Case For LG Autonomy

The director-general of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Ilorin, Kwara State, Comrade Issa Aremu, yesterday stressed the need to grant local government councils in the country autonomy.

He also hailed members of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) for their consistent struggle for local government autonomy.

Aremu stated this during the opening of a two-day in-plant workshop the  MINILS organised for NULGE members in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State.

The workshop with the theme: “Sustainable Industrial Relations Harmony and Productivity Enhancement: An Imperative for Local Government Development” was attended by the national president of NULGE, Comrade Ambali Hakeem, Osun State chairman, deputy chairman and secretary, Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, Mrs Iyabo Olanrewaju and Akinditire Paul respectively.

While urging Nigerians to appreciate the country’s 24 years of uninterrupted democracy, Aremu argued that local governments should be regarded as the first tier of government due to the special roles they play at the grassroots.

He said that the demand by NULGE for increment in salary has become necessary as that will help their members meet up with the economic realities in the country.

He advocated for sustainable palliative programmes which should strictly be anchored by local government administration to complement the efforts of the federal government in mitigating the impact of the fuel subsidy removal on wage income and public welfare.

Aremu, who made a case for local governments to be returned to their original status, advised that 10 percent of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) meant for them should be paid as at when due.

He commended the organised labour and other stakeholders for engaging the federal government through social dialogue.

He praised Kwara State governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for announcing series of innovative measures to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy removal that included “a cash support of N10,000 for every public sector worker in the state, which will begin this month (July) and last until a new minimum wage is introduced to enable workers to cope with the economic shocks created by the subsidy removal.”