The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC has vowed to mobilize millions of Nigerians against the National Assembly if the autonomy of the 774 local government councils and the 36 State Houses of Assembly are not granted full autonomous status constitutionally in the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria
The National President of the workers union Comrade Ayuba Wabba spoke at the press conference organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution where the union gave its position on the matter in the latest constitution review excercise.
Wabba said that the NLC is ready to push for the autonomy of state institutions including the local government councils, state houses of assembly and the judiciary on the constitution alteration process by the apex legislature.
He further stated that Nigeria is ripe for strong state institutions and lamented that the political development had been hindered by the presence of strong men
in the nooks and crannies of the polity.
He said:”We cannot continue to have strong persons as actors rather we need very strong institutions of democracy.”
He however, rejected the call for state police noting that most federal states have federal police whose presence is felt in all the federating units and they still maintain law and order in those nations.
Similarly, the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE said that the union is firmly in support of the autonomy of all the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.
National President of the body, Com. Ambali Olatunji said that the union believes in the indivisibility and unity of the entity known as the Nigerian state.
Other workers union at the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria PASAN also supported that local government councils and state houses of assembly and even the national assembly should have autonomy in the nation’s constitution for peace, order and good governance.
National President of PASAN Mohammed Usman in a remark said that the legislative aides union will shut down the apex legislative institution, the national assembly and all the 36 state houses of assembly if the autonomy of the legislative institutions of democracy is not provided for in the reviewed grund norm of Nigeria.