Fidelis Soriwei, Abuja

The Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the 36 state Houses of Assembly to give the expected support to the National Assembly, which voted in support of the local government autonomy in the new amendments proposed to the 1999 Constitution.

The President of the NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, challenged the state assemblies to identify with the aspirations of Nigerians on the issue of autonomy for local government councils by displaying the courage to vote the position of the National Assembly.

Both chambers of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate, had voted in support of local government autonomy on Wednesday and Thursday respectively as part of the proposed amendments to the constitution.

Wabba said during a press conference in Abuja on Friday that the state assemblies and the Nigerian populace should support the position of the President and the National Assembly on the issue.

He stressed that the desired autonomy for local government would not be a reality without securing a two-third majority in the state houses of assembly.

He said that the amendments if passed into law would emancipate the local government from the stranglehold of the states and restore the lost glory to the councils.

Wabba, who commended the National Assembly for what he described as a bold step, said that the local government tier of government was the most abused and exploited in the history of the country.

He said, “We, therefore, call on the members of the 36 state Houses of Assembly to be on the side of the people and history by displaying the courage of their colleagues at the National Assembly by giving them their unqualified support.

“We similarly call on all the governors of the 36 states to sheathe partisan or insular considerations and support these amendments in the national interest.

“We call on other Nigerians whose support is invaluable to rise and mobilise support and spare no effort in ensuring that these amendments become law.”

The NLC’s President, who also spoke on the issue of the restructuring of the country, called for a broader platform involving the people to discuss how the country should be restructured.

He said that while it was important to devolve power from the centre, the process to arrive at the decision should emanate from the people rather than the National Assembly.

“There should be a platform for a thorough discussion because of divergent views on the issue of restructuring. Some of the responsibilities should be taken away from the centre. “The process should be a bit more thorough. There is a need for power to actually devolve. It should be from the people. The decision taken has not addressed the vital issues.

“The process of making laws must draw its source from the people especially when it affects restructuring, the process must derive its legitimacy from the people. This entire process started from the NASS.

“The process shouldn’t be limited to the issues that were canvassed at the 7th National Assembly. Nigerians should be carried along; there are different ideas of what needs to be done, the ideas should be synchronised.”

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