NLC Urges FG To Ensure Direct Allocation Of LG Funds

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to ensure that local government allocations are paid directly, in line with the Supreme Court ruling.

Speaking at the 8th National Administrative Council meeting of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Abuja on Sunday, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, urged both the government and state governors to refrain from politicizing the implementation of the judgment, which mandates local governments to open accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for direct allocations.

Ajaero reaffirmed the NLC’s commitment to supporting NULGE in its fight for full autonomy, stressing that the release of funds should not be subject to political influence.

He stated: “We have got autonomy now. I want to plead with the federal government not to play politics with the autonomy we have gotten. The release of funds to local governments should not be at the whims and caprices of the government.”

Emphasizing the legality of the Supreme Court ruling, Ajaero argued that compliance should be automatic rather than discretionary.

“It’s a position of law. It is not if you like me, you send me money. If you don’t like me, you won’t send me money. I think we should get that. The very moment the judicial arm of government, the highest court in the land, gave that ruling, they are not doing anybody any favour any longer. And even the president agrees with it. So I don’t understand their sense of delays any longer,” he noted.

The NLC President assured that the labour movement, alongside NULGE and other trade unions, would actively resist any violation of the Supreme Court ruling at any level of government.

“So the NLC, NULGE and all trade union movements in Nigeria will work with all of you to make sure that we fight any infraction at any unit, be it council, be it state. Our struggle has been highlighted in such a way that it will not be a way of telling them to obey the law. It is no longer agitation.

“This is another way of enforcing the law, which was voluntarily entered into. We are not at the mercy of any governor, we are not at the mercy of any President, we are not at the mercy of any minister,” he declared.

Ajaero also commended past NULGE leaders for their dedication to the union’s progress and smooth democratic transitions.

He encouraged the newly elected leadership to uphold the strong foundation laid by their predecessors, ensuring continued advocacy for local government autonomy.