The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ekiti State branch, on Tuesday, vehemently criticized former Governor Ayodele Fayose for his recent comments on local government workers.
Fayose had expressed opposition to the Supreme Court’s judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments, alleging that most council officials were absent from work and only interested in collecting money.
Fayose stated, “Go to the council on Wednesday or Friday, and you will not find 10 per cent of the staff of the local government in the office. They don’t come. My name is Ayo Fayose and I want them to dispute this.
“They don’t come to work. When you make moves to bring them to book, both NULGE and all leaders of the local government will go and beg the governor. They will be telling you, we will not vote for you. This is the way we operate at the local government.”
Responding, NULGE President Oluseyi Olatunde dismissed Fayose’s claims as mischievous and untrue, stating that council workers in Ekiti State are productive and have contributed significantly to the state’s developmental progress.
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He said the former governor’s remarks were not surprising since he operated the local governments under his tenure as a personal business empire.
Olatunde accused Fayose of lacking understanding of local government operations and deliberately impoverishing council workers during his tenure as governor.
Fayose’s policies, including using three federal allocations to pay a month’s salary, resulted in unpaid salaries and arrears of up to nine months, despite the state receiving bailout funds.
NULGE called on Fayose to withdraw his statement and tender an unreserved apology to council workers.
Olatunde said, “The statement is not the true picture of local government practice in Nigeria and in Ekiti State in particular.”
“It is a mere fallacy cooked up by Fayose and his like who are opposed to the realities of the local government autonomy.
“We call on Fayose to humbly withdraw the vexatious statement and tender unreserved apology to the council workers who he had discredited, blackmailed and portrayed in bad light in the eyes of right thinking public.
“Council workers in Ekiti State are very productive and this is evident in the various developmental progress made so far by all the councils, including the Local Council Development Areas created in the state.
“The leadership of NULGE is not surprised at the negative outburst of Fayose who, during his time as governor of Ekiti State, ran the councils like his private business and reduced the office of the council chairman to that of a puppet.
“Not that alone, he impoverished local government workers through his obnoxious policy of using three federal allocations to pay a month’s salary, which resulted in unpaid salaries accumulating in arrears of nine months, despite the huge bailout funds the state received from the Federal Government.
“In no way did Fayose use the funds to bail local government workers out of the huge financial mess he plunged us into. We are grateful to President Bola Tinubu, the judiciary and well-meaning Nigerians who fought for the local government autonomy.”
This development highlights the ongoing debate on local government autonomy and the role of state governments in managing local government funds.
The Supreme Court’s judgment has sparked intense discussions on the effectiveness of local government administration in Nigeria.
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