The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees [NULGE] in Edo State have threatened to embark on an indefinite strike action should the State Government decline to make available the balance of N450million bailout fund for the local government councils allegedly lodged at a commercial bank in the country.
State president, NULGE Comrade Edward Young Ilenikhena who decried the present plight of the councils’ workers and inability of the immediate past executive chairmen to offset salary arrears spanning between 15-10 months said the warning strike will commence on Friday
‘’ I want to put on record that the local government had a bailout, after the bailout we still have surplus with Access Bank ranging to about 450million . As we speak, the State Government and the Ministry of Finance are still holding that money.
‘’I expect that by now with the groaning of the local government workers across the state that the government t will authorize Access Bank to release that money to at least pay their one or two months salaries,” he said.
Ilenikhena said after series of representations made to the state government and the Local Government Service Commission by the union in collaboration with the State NLC, no respite appears to be on the way except in Egor Local Government council where the Central Bank has concluded plans to release N360million to offset seven months salary arrears
He equally described as ‘rape on democracy’ the failure of the State Independent Electoral Commission [EDSIEC] to conduct local government elections before the expiration of the tenure of the out-gone executive chairmen
‘’They are truncating the democratic system of the local government, they were fully aware of the time the last local government election was conducted and the same time they were fully aware of the period their tenure was to expire’.
“It is a rape on democracy as far as the local government is concerned. What we have now is not a local government administration because it is not by the people and for the people. So, to us it is not a local government administration it is a local administration.’’
