The Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has denied allegations that it was responsible for the non-release of local government allocations in the state, insisting its industrial action was aimed at resisting illegality in council administration.
Responding to claims by Senator Iyiola Omisore and the All Progressives Congress (APC), the union said the action to stay off duty was necessary to prevent the imposition of council chairmen sacked by the court and to oppose irregularities in the process of opening and operating local government accounts.
Dr. Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, the state president of NULGE, said the action became inevitable to safeguard union members and protect the sanctity of the local government system from what he described as “deliberate disregard for court rulings.”
“The attempt to impose court-sacked chairmen was followed by a desperate bid by the state APC to change signatories to local government accounts,” Ogungbangbe explained. “Instead of allowing the Head of Local Administration (HLA), Director of Finance and Accounts (DFA), and Director of Administration and General Services (DAGS) to be signatories as prescribed by law, the APC attempted to create a non-existing office of treasurer to take charge of the accounts.”
According to him, the union formally alerted relevant authorities of the anomaly and demanded that financial regulations be upheld, a position also backed by the national leadership of NULGE.
“We are not responsible for the seizure or non-release of funds. The core issue is the attempt to pay money to court-sacked APC chairmen,” Ogungbangbe stressed. “Our staying off the secretariats does not stop the release of funds once the right officials are allowed to be signatories.”
The union further alleged that its members were subjected to threats of violence during the standoff. Ogungbangbe recalled an incident in which security guards at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Osogbo allegedly fired shots when legitimate signatories attempted to open local government accounts.
Calling on the CBN and federal authorities to recognize the duly elected PDP council chairmen, NULGE reaffirmed that its action was solely to defend the rule of law and ensure accountability in local government finance.
