Nigeria: Democracy in local government central to development

Local government is crucial to the development of Nigeria, says president of Nigeria Union of Local Employees.

The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has been agitating for the restructuring of local government as a way of speeding up the development in the country.

At a worksop organised by the center for democracy and development, president of NULGE, Ibrahim Khaleel Adk, was one of the keynote speakers.

"As at today, only 12 states (Lagos, Edo, Rivers, Cross-Rivers, Ebonyi, Kwara, Niger, Sokoto, Jigawa, Akwa-Ibom, Zamfara and Taraba) out of 37 states of the federation have elected representatives running the affairs of their Local Government Councils. This is central to the whole problem because it is by planting stooges who neither have the mandate of the people nor the moral strength to resist the excruciating control of the State Governments that perpetuate the rot," said the NULGE president.