Oshiomhole tasks LGs on obligations to workers

AS the controversy over payments of salaries of local government workers continues with members of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) embarking on rallies across the three senatorial districts in Edo state, Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said that Local Government Councils must meet their obligations as specified in the constitution adding that the state government would assist the Local Governments in re-engineering their finances in order to meet their obligations to their workers.

NULGE in a protest few days ago, accused the state government of illegal deductions from councils allocations, a development they alleged has been responsible for some councils’ inability to pay salaries.

In defense of the governor, the council chairmen under the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) attributed the inability of some councils in the state to pay salaries of their workers to the alleged mismanagement of the economy by the immediate past Peoples Democratic Party led government and not the administration of Oshiomhole.

The ALGON chairman, Mrs Itoha Osahon-Ogbeide and Legal Adviser, Mrs Lucy Omagbon at a press conference, described the allegation by the PDP and NULGE that its allocations were being deducted as one “ignorance” adding that the problem of paucity of funds for Local Governments started since October 2014 when the Federal Government started complaining about oil theft and the corresponding dwindling allocations from the Federation account.

Also speaking, Omagbon asserted, “The problem is that we get half of what we use to get before. The issue started since October last year and everybody knows that. Orbih has been on the downward trend and we are not surprised at his present utterances. Infact the comrade Governor has been doing his best to even look for money to help councils and some body is talking rubbish”.