July 18, (THEWILL) – On Wednesday, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Imo State chapter, organised a solidarity rally/march for President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Government, in appreciation of the restoration of local government autonomy.
As early as 9 am, scores of officials and members of the union, from the 27 LGAs of the state had converged at the NULGE state secretariat carrying placards with inscriptions conveying their gratitude and support to Mr President and Governor Uzodimma.
The workers defied the early morning rain and marched from their state secretariat through adjoining roads and the busy Owerri/Port Harcourt Expressway chanting solidarity songs.
Addressing the elated workers and newsmen after the march, Imo State President of NULGE, Comrade Charles Okechukwu Okere disclosed that the solidarity procession demonstrated the support and gratitude of Imo LG workers to President Tinubu for adopting a new approach that led to the success of local government financial autonomy.
Okere recalled that previous presidents had attempted to rescue the LG system from the stranglehold of state governments through the legislative process and failed, but President Tinubu broke the jinx using the judicial process.
He commended the judiciary, especially the judges of the Supreme Court, for the courage in delivering justice as appropriate, stressing that the verdict of the apex court is in the overall interest of Nigerians and not council workers alone.
Comrade Okere equally commended Governor Uzodimma for his foresight in initiating the forthcoming local government elections slated to be held in the 305 wards and 27 LGAs of Imo on September 21, 2024, saying that singular action demonstrated the governor’s belief in local government autonomy before the Supreme Court judgment.
He commended the workers for the success of the solidarity rally saying “We are gathered here to tell Nigerians and Mr President himself that NULGE, especially those of us in Imo chapter, are solidly behind President Bola Tinubu and the Supreme Court for liberating the local government from the stronghold of the higher tiers of government.
“We want to salute his political will to change the experiment have been experiencing over the years by going to the Supreme Court to seek the interpretation of what we have just benefitted today.
“We salute all the judges at the Supreme Court for taking the bull by the horns. Today, the local governments have been liberated.
“We also salute Governor Hope Uzodimma for accepting the Supreme Court judgment immediately. He equally has demonstrated his own political will by rolling out his programmes for local government elections even before the Supreme Court judgement came. The meaning is that Imo State, under Governor Uzodimma, had liberated the local government before the judgment ahead of time.”
