A faction of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employee in Osun on Saturday appealed to local government workers in the state to resume work in the interest of the public.
The faction, under the aegis of Association of Concerned Local Government Staff, noted that the shutting of the council secretariats was subjecting the public to unnecessary hardship and denying them of basic services.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo, Adebayo Adekunle, the coordinator of the group, described the protracted withdrawal of services at the local governments as the height of irresponsibility.
Adekunle noted that with the shutting of the local government secretariats, pregnant women and children at the grassroots have been denied access to maternity and clinics services as well as drugs stores for medical care.
He appealed to the leadership of NULGE in the state to ensure the immediate reopening of the council secretariats.
He said that the local government employees should not continue to be denied their monetary and career privileges following the withdrawal of services.
“We call on all patriotic local government workers to resume back to work without further delay.
“For over a month now, those who need marriage certificate, local government identification and other important documents have been denied unjustly.
”Workers who are due for study release are watching helplessly and the local government cooperative loans deductions that usually serve as reliefs for members in time of needs cannot be accessed due to withdrawal of services.
”On our part, we are to serve all government legally in power.
”If it is All Progressives Congress(APC) today or Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) tomorrow, our business is public service delivery and not any political party in power.
”It is our duty and we are ready to work with those who are already lawfully at the local government secretariats through a Court of Appeal judgment.
“And if tomorrow, the Supreme Court says otherwise or their tenure expires, we are still going to work with those who would be occupying the political offices in our local governments, that is our covenant,” he said.
Adekunle said that the group would liaise with security agencies to ensure that workers were protected upon resumption.
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The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress and NULGE had on February 16 directed local government workers in the state to withdraw their services effective from February 17.
The chairmen of the two unions, Christopher Arapasopo and Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, in separate statements, said that the directive was in response to the political tension following a Court of Appeal judgment.
While the PDP claimed that the February 10 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Akure, did not reinstate the sacked APC chairmen and councillors elected in 2022, APC insisted on their return to offices.
Crisis, however, erupted on February 17, when both parties were laying claim to local government secretariats across the state, with the police confirming six deaths during the crisis.
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