Workers Begin Mass Rallies On LG Autonomy Tuesday

Workers Begin Mass Rallies On LG Autonomy Tuesday

Akeem Ambali, National President of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, stated that the union planned to meet with President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) next week to discuss the delayed passage of the local government autonomy bill.

The union would also hold rallies across the country as part of its advocacy to ensure that the bill is passed quickly by the various state houses of assembly.

On March 29, 2022, the National Assembly sent 44 constitutional amendment bills to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration.

The bills seek to amend various provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

The National Assembly had on March 1, 2022, voted on the 68 amendments recommended by the Joint Senate and House of Representatives’ Special Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.

To amend a clause in the Constitution, two-third or four-fifth majority of each of the Senate and the House has to approve the amendment after which it will be transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly, where two-third or 24 of the 36 of them have to concur.

However, nine months after the transmission of the bills, many states were said to have refused to vote for local government autonomy.

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Abubakar Suleiman, Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, told The PUNCH on Tuesday that 21 states had passed the amendment bills as of December 6, 2022.

According to reliable sources, the Houses of Assembly in Lagos, Ekiti, and Benue opposed local government autonomy, while the Adamawa State legislature abstained from the bill proposing the autonomy.

Abia, Kogi, Edo, Ogun, Katsina, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Nasarawa, Niger, Kaduna, Cross River, Osun, Enugu, Kano, and Bauchi states voted for LG autonomy, according to a breakdown of the votes forwarded to our correspondent.

The 9th National Assembly had budgeted N4bn for the Constitution review exercise.

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Wase, who are Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Special Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, respectively, had on October 18, 2022, vented their anger over the delay in passing the bills by the state assemblies.

Worried by the lukewarm attitude to the constitution review exercise, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila have rallied support for the quick passage of the amendment bills.

But responding to questions on the delayed passage of the local government autonomy bill, on Tuesday, the NULGE President, Ambali, said “We have planned to commence advocacy and rallies across the state assemblies to ensure its passage from next week.