From Esther Akaa, Lafia
The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Nasarawa State chapter has appealed to the state House of Assembly to support the bill seeking to grant full autonomy to local government areas in the country.
The President of NULGE in the state, Comrade Sharhabilu Rak-Adamu made the call while briefing journalists on Friday in Lafia.
According to him, the call became necessary due to the significance of LGAs to the socio-economic development of the country as being closer to the people.
He noted that the union has been agitating for LGAs autonomy for more than 10 years, saying that at the moment, only 11 state houses of assembly had passed the LGAs autonomy bill.
“Nasarawa State House of Assembly is among those who have not yet passed it, so we are calling on the principal officers and members of the assembly to support the bill because of its importance,” he said.
He commended the houses of assembly who have already passed the bill for their commitment and appealed to others to take a cue from their colleagues and do so for the overall development of the states and country at large.
The NULGE president also used the opportunity to thank the Governor of the state, Abdullahi Sule for granting partial autonomy to LGAs in the state.
He, however, appealed to the governor to prevail on the assembly to pass the bill to complement his effort in ensuring well-being of the LGAs in the state, even as he expressed optimism that the bill if passed, will go a long way to address the increasing poverty, insecurity and other vices in the country.
The Voice reports that the National Assembly recently passed the bill and transmitted it to the 36 Houses of Assembly across the country for legislative processes in line with the provisions of the law.