The National Union of Local Government Employees has vowed to sue governors over alleged funds’ diversion. It also mentioned that the amendment to the 1999 Constitution remains a viable solution to end the diversion of local government funds by the state government.
The association made the statement in reaction to President Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s (retd) assertion that stunted development experienced at the local government level was caused by governors and local government officials who “pocket” public funds.
Buhari criticised the governors over what he described as poor governance at the grassroots.
He lamented how some state governors receive monies on behalf of local government councils in their states and remit half of it to the council chairman who pilfers the remnant, leaving nothing for developmental projects.
But speaking in a telephone interview with journalists, the National President of NULGE, Hakeem Ambali, said the lacuna in the constitution made the state government continue to divert local government funds meant for the grassroots.
On steps to take to end the menace, Ambali stated that “a legal tussle is an option, adding that though the “Nigerian legal system is in a pitiable condition, we are not ruling out that option”.
