Twenty-two states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have failed to pay local government staff salaries for period ranging between one and 16 months. The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, said yesterday.
NULGE, however, said that 14 states including Lagos, Ogun, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Cross River, Niger and Anambra were up to date in the payment of local government workers’ entitlement.
According to a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, NULGE asked governors of the affected states to offset the salaries and other allowances of local government workers with the second tranche of the Paris Club loan refund released to them, warning that it will be forced to shut down all local government councils in the country if the state governments fail to pay the entitlements.
National President of the union, Ibrahim Khaleel, warned state governors not to divert or tamper with the second tranche of Paris Club loan refund but use it to offset the entitlement of workers.
The union vowed to mobilize its teeming members and shut down all the local governments across the country.
A computation by NULGE revealed that states like Bayelsa, Kogi, Delta, Kaduna, Oyo and Edo lead in indebtedness chart.
