–ACCUSES NULGE OF MORTGAGING STAFF OF LGC’s FOR 30 MILLION NAIRA.
A group known as the Concerned Senior Staff Forum of the Seventeen Local Government Councils in Plateau State has condemned in strong terms the decision of the State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees NULGE for embarking on strike with due process thereby plunging the system into chaos.
According to a statement jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the group , Dung Chuwang and Namsel Ponfa described the action of the Arandong Makwin led State Chapter of the Union as political laughable, autocratic and condemnable in view of the fact that it was hastily done to satisfy the whims and caprices of their paymasters.
The statement accused the State NULGE Chairman of usurping the powers of its congress and State Executive Council in taking the unilateral decision which has plunge the Seventeen Local Government Workers into needless confusion as the strike was declared without any consultation with other affiliates of the union.
The CSSF alleged that based on credible information at its disposal, the State Chapter of NULGE collected thirty million naira from a the state government to embark on the illegal and unpopular strike with the aim of frustrating the resumption of the duly elected Local Government Chairmen and their councillors and warned the State Exco of the Union from dragging its name to mud by hiding under the canopy of NULGE to perpetrate illegality, pointing out that their actions amount to betrayal of trust and confidence.
While lamenting that due process was not followed in declaring the strike, the group explained that the strike supposed to have been discussed and endorsed by the Congress, ratified by the State Executive Council before adoption, but in this case , the State Chairman hurriedly announced the strike immediately after the State Commissioner of Police Okoro Alawari ordered the reopening of the Local Government Secretariats which has been under lock and key on the orders of the Inspector General of Police to forestall the breakdown of law and orders in the aftermath of the purported suspension of the duly elected Local Government Chairmen and their councillors by the State Government.
The CSSF noted that Nigeria is a constitutional state, therefore, NULGE should not meddle the union into politics which does serve the workers any good.
While distancing itself from the purported strike which does not enjoy the support of majority of the Local Government workforce, noted that the action was done in clear contravention of the NULGE constitution and appealed to the headquarters of the Union in Abuja to come to the rescue of the State.
The Concerned group while observing that NULGE is not a political party, wondered why other affiliates of the Union comprising of the Health Workers Union and the National Association of Nurses and Midwives did not Join the strike , if at all the action was taken in the best interest of the Local Government workers.
In view of this deliberate act which put the Union in a bad light and its attendant effects especially on workers , the group has passed a vote-of- no-confidence on the Arandong Makwin led Exco of the State NULGE, before it further drag the Union to the mud.
The Statement commended the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun and the State Commissioner of Police, Okoro Alawari for unsealing the Local Government Secretariats and urged workers to resume duties without fear of molestation or intimidation as the security agencies has assured on the safety of all workers.
E-sign:
Dung Chuwang.
Chairman.
Namsel Ponfa.
Secretary.
