These recommendations come in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to local governments.
Abuja, Nigeria — The Organised Labour, comprising the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), has called on the Federal Government to halt direct payments of workers’ salaries to local governments, citing potential disruptions to the system.
In a seven-point proposal submitted under the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Local Government-based unions, Labour suggested several measures, including staff redistribution, placement, and an auditing exercise to accurately determine the number of local government employees, primary school teachers, and pensioners in all 774 local government areas nationwide.
These recommendations come in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to local governments.
The leadership of the unions, including NUT President Titus Amba, NULGE President-General Ambali Akeem, and NUP President Godwin Abumisi, expressed concerns that direct payments might create instability in the local government system. As part of their proposals, they called for an immediate embargo on new staff recruitment—including teachers—at the local government level for one year to stabilize operations.
“For a smooth transition to the direct payment system, JAC recommends a comprehensive staff redistribution, placement, and auditing exercise to ascertain the actual number of Local Government workers, primary school teachers, and pensioners,” the JAC stated in a communiqué.
Other key recommendations include a restructuring of supervisory institutions responsible for local government oversight. According to the JAC, these agencies should be restructured to include statutory members such as the chairmen of local governments, heads of local government-based unions, and other relevant stakeholders to ensure quality control and inclusivity.
The committee also proposed modifications to the statutory membership of key institutions such as the Local Government Service Commission, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), and Local Government Staff Pension Board. For instance, JAC recommended that the Local Government Service Commission should include a representative from the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and NULGE, while SUBEB should have a representative from both ALGON and NUT.
Additionally, JAC suggested a Federal Government intervention to address infrastructural deficits in local governments by procuring essential equipment, such as tractors, graders, bulldozers, and refuse disposal vans. The procurement costs would be deducted from local government allocations over time on an instalment basis.
In addressing security concerns, the committee recommended reorganizing the peace and security committee of each local government. The proposed measures include indexing, registration, kitting, intelligence gathering, and regular bi-monthly meetings to be coordinated and funded by the local governments.
To ensure worker welfare and industrial harmony, JAC called for the following: local government workers’ gross salaries should be managed by the Local Government Service Commission; two percent of the total local government allocation should be set aside for the commission’s running grants and training programs; and 25 percent of the gross salary of teachers and local government workers should be deducted from local government allocations to fund pensions and gratuities through the Local Government Staff Pension Board.
The proposal also suggests that the Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs be strengthened to serve as the supervisory ministry for policy formulation, coordination, and supervision of local government reforms. According to JAC, the ministry should hold a quarterly summit to review the local government scheme of service every five years, ensuring that policies remain productive and relevant at the local government level.
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