The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees NULGE, Ekiti State has dismissed an allegation levelled on them by a pro Segun Oni group that the leadership of the union across the 16 local government was induced with eight million naira to vote against a certain candidate during the June 18 election.
The pro-Segun Oni group under the aegis of Ekiti Build Back Better (EBBB) led by Idowu Adelusi was said to have accused the Ekiti State governor, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, of giving N8 million to the16 local government chairmen of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the state as bribe to lobby local government workers not to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate, Asiwaju Segun Oni, in the June 18 governorship election.
In a statement in Ado Ekiti, the State Secretary of NULGE, Comrade Victor Adebayo explained that such report could only be cooked up by an unreliable and unstable personality like Idowu Adelusi and his co-travellers who are only struggling to survive from the crumbs from the table of their pay master who is also been hunted by the shenanigans of his past.
Adebayo said ” Our attention has been drawn to the blatant lie and falsehood been peddled by one Idowu Adelusi where he alleged leaders of our union of taking bribe from government.
“Ordinarily, we ought not to have dignified the person of Adelusi and his pay master with response but for the sake of the unsuspecting members of the public we wish to state the fact as it is.
“Adelusi ought to bury his head in shame for descending so low to concort fake news just to curry favour and stipend from candidate of SDP.
“For record purpose, none of our member or executive of our union was offered any bribe by government, and we don’t need to take bribe before we vote for any candidate of our choice. As a matter of fact, the present administration does not need to induce us before we reciprocate its good gestures towards our members and our service. The truth of the matter is that the present administration had given us a local government of our dream and a service we can all proud about. We are not fools, the present administration of JKF had brought career prospect and growth to local government service and it is like never before in the history of local government service in Ekiti. Simply put, we have never had it so fantastic like this in the past.
“It seems Adelusi and his master are already sensing failure at the poll, hence they resulted to cheap blackmail and trying to drag the name of our respectable leaders in the mud, but they have failed.
“Local government workers have chosen a path and there is no going back. This election is a pay back time and we are ready to reciprocate the good gestures of the present government for all it had done for our service and members.
“For the avoidance of doubting Thomases like Idowu Adelusi the government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi never took the issue of council workers and local government service with levity and this is evident in the benefits listed below.
1. Appointment of LG workers as co ordinating Directors to superintendent over LG. The first of it’s kind in Nigeria
2. Regular payment of salary
3. Appointment of LG functionaries as PS
4. Appointment of 6 executive Secretaries for the first time at a go.
5. Appointment of 40 HLA’s
6. Conversion of officers to Admin and accountant cardre
7. Employment of new staff
8. Promotion/advancement of above 4 thousand+ in 2018/2019
9. Promotion advancement of 3thousand+ in 2020/2021
10. Directorization of cardre inline with approved scheme of service
11. Creation of LCDA’s
12. Auto elevation via the LCDA’s
13. Creation of more dept. Water, sanitation and hygiene WASH, procurement, audit, information and legal services. This gives more opportunities and expansion of the service
14. Advancement of nurses and health education officers with university degrees to the post of directors grade level 16
15. Regular payment of pension gratuity. #943,195,825:94 has been pd to LG and pry school teachers.
16. Upgrade of LG staff training school to institute of LG, now a diploma awarding institute.
17. Car loan of over 40m
18. Housing loan above 333m
18. Encouraging a self development on professionalism for better opportunity
20. No local government workers lost their jobs Under the present administration of JKF
21. Local government workers had peace of mind and industrial harmony for the first time.
We therefore challenge Adelusi to controvert this fact or tell us what his master had done better while in government”
NULGE however advised adelusi to “desist from any further attempt to blackmail leaders of the union saying the union would not hesitate to take legal means against him”
The Union called on members of the public to disregard the allegation while calling on council workers “to remain calm and be focused without allowing any unscrupulous elements to pitch them against their benefactor”