Reports that the Local level of governments was on the verge of being abolished has forced Local Government employees to storm the national assembly in protest.
The rioters under the umbrella of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), broke the security guard around the National Assembly premises and forced their way in to make their case for the retention of the local governments as the third level of government in the country, armed with several placards, with inscriptions such as: ‘No local government! No Democracy! No Nigeria!’ ‘Local Government Symbol of Democracy in Nigeria.’
Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu was soon available to address the crowd of protesters as they sang solidarity songs. Senator Ekweremadu after listening to them said their fears about the abolition of local governments were unfounded. ‘ There is no proposal before the National Assembly for the abolition of local governments. Anyone that said so was expressing his or her individual opinion.’ he assured.
Before the assurance given by the senate Deputy President, the National President of NULGE, Prince Kingsley Ogba had lamented that the advocates for the abolition of local governments as third tier, were themselves past beneficiaries of the system of local government and they only wanted the funds currently accruable to the local governments to be added to the share of the states, thereby helping the state governors in perpetuating corruption in the country.
He also called for the amendment of constitutional provisions that tied the local governments to the state governments in their funding.
