Agitation for local government autonomy get more momentum in Oyo State as hundreds of local government employees from across the 33 council areas of Oyo State on Tuesday stormed the State House of Assembly in Ibadan demanding for political, financial and administrative autonomy of the local government.
They also demanded for the conduct of local government election which the refusal of the State government in the last six years has adversely affecting the development of the grassroots.
The protesting workers, under the umbrella of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Oyo state chapter led by their President, Alhaji Bayo Titilola-Sodo, submitted a letter conveying the demands of the workers to the Speaker of the Oyo State Assembly, Hon. Michael Adeyemo.
Addressing newsmen, the Oyo NULGE boss noted that the failure of the state government to conduct local government election in the last six years has hampered the development of council areas in the state.
Titilola-Sodo insisted that local governments should be given political, financial and administrative autonomy as the third tier of government in Nigeria.
According to him, the continued imposition of caretaker committees on councils negates the constitutional provision that democratically elected officials should administer local governments.
The NULGE boss also called for the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), saying the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be allowed to conduct elections into all the 774 council areas in Nigeria.
“It is the people that gives mandate through election, if the election will be conducted into the local government, it is not supposed to be State electoral commission but INEC.
“That’s how we can have true democratically process, if it is by state electoral commission, it can never be true representation of the people’s mandate “, NULGE President stressed.
On Financial autonomy, Titilola-Sodo said NULGE wanted the Joint Account system with state government should be abolished, describing the system as an avenue state governments are using to divert local government allocations.
According to him, “immediately local government allocations get into the account, they disappear leaving the councils at the mercy of God. This has adversely affected development at the grassroots.

Senior Editor,
Lagos Post Online
Email: raji_adebayong@yahoo.com
M: 08034094059