Nigeria: Association Faults Osun Union Executive On Council Administration Status

As local government workers resume work after eleven months of strike today, the Association of Concerned Local Government workers (ACLGW) in Osun State has faulted the position of the Comrade Kehinde Ogungbangbe-led executive of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) on the status of those who administer local government in Osun State.

Addressing newsmen in Osogbo on Sunday, Comrade Adekunle Adedayo maintained that any local government administration headed by caretaker committees, sole administrators, or career officers is not entitled to receive allocations from the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Recalled that NULGE had in their resumption directives to workers stated that the 30 Local Government council areas offices and LCDAs secretariats can be effectively run without any chairmen/councillors but by the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA), with Director of Administration and General Services (DAGS), and Director of Finance serving as the duly recognized signatories to the Local Government accounts under the Osun State Local Government Accounts Administration Law 2025.

However, Adebayo insisted that the position was a fallacy in the eyes of the law, as relevant Supreme Court judgments on local government autonomy and existing judicial precedents were not in line with the position of the Osun NULGE executive.

"Nigeria Constitution and Supreme Court pronouncements supersede any law made by any House of Assembly in any State of the Federation, with the relevant Supreme Court judgments on financial autonomy, any Local Government administration under the headship of caretaker committees, Sole Administrators or Career Officers Control are not entitled to receive allocation from Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC)".

While welcoming their colleagues back to work today, ACLGW urged them to conduct themselves within the bounds of the law, emphasising that what should be paramount to them is how to utilise the autonomy given to them to improve the lives of grassroots people, advance their careers, and contribute to the development of local communities.

They added that with autonomy in the local government system, they foresee great things ahead, and that they should join hands to show the world that they can manage it, thereby shaming those who are pessimistic.

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