LG workers fault NULGE leadership as 11-month strike ends in Osun
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo –
The Association of Concerned Local Government Workers has blamed the Nathaniel Ogungbangbe-led Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Osun for what it described as a politically motivated 11-month shutdown of local governments in the state, as council workers return to duty.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, the state chairman of the group, Adekunle Adedayo, said the strike, initiated by Ogungbangbe under the guise of security concerns, later turned out to be politically induced. He alleged that the prolonged action destabilised council administration across the state.
Adedayo also commended security agencies in the state for protecting workers who continued their duties with legally reinstated political functionaries across local governments, appealing to them to continue ensuring that the lives of members are secured both within and outside office premises.
He further declared that no staff member should parade as a NULGE branch executive, insisting that the tenure of branch executives expired in May 2025, and called for preparations to fill the vacant positions in line with union rules.
Rejecting claims credited to the Ogungbangbe-led NULGE that local government secretariats could be run without elected chairmen and councillors, the group described such assertions as unlawful and a fallacy in the eyes of the law.
Adedayo maintained that political authority at the local government level cannot be exercised by sole administrators or career officers, warning that councils run outside democratic structures are not entitled to federal allocations.
The association expressed gratitude to the APC-led ALGON executives for the payment of salaries and benefits after members were removed from the payroll by the PDP-led state government, pledging continued support as long as workers’ welfare is prioritised.
Advising returning workers to operate within the law, he urged them to focus on using local government autonomy to drive grassroots development.
