Don't Hands Off LG Joint Account, Kure Urged
From Jide Orintunsin in Minna
Corporate organisations and beneficiaries of the Niger State Local Government Joint Account have appealed to Governor, Abdulkadir Kure, not to withdraw from the operation of the account.
Kure, who announced last week his intention to hands off the operation of the account by September 1, was visited by leaders of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), demanding for a change of heart.
According to them, the withdrawal will snowball into problems, breach industrial peace and possible loss of jobs, as they claim not to have faith in the local government.
By the withdrawal of the state, each council will receive its allocation and pay its staff, teachers and pensioners, a policy the union and other beneficiaries are kicking against.
Expressing displeasure over the decision, the NUT, led by its Chairman, Comrade Ibrahim Kagara, told Kure that the withdrawal from the joint account and the decentralisation of payment of teachers' salaries will take them back to the dark days of the 80s, when teachers' were owed salaries for months.
Kagara said handing over the management and funding of primary education to local government councils was the worst policy of any government in the history of education.
He said the decision will make a mockery of the national policy on education, which made provision for the establishment of schools management board.
He recalled the hardship teachers went through between 1979 and 1983, before former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida established the National Primary Education Commission (NPEC).
"We will appreciate it, if government have a rethink and continue the management of the joint account system, so that teachers and indeed primary education will not suffer," Kagara pleaded.
Acting state Chairman of the Pensioners, Comrade Sheidu Anache, told the governor that, "government's decision will bring an untold hardship to our members and may cause breach of industrial harmony.
He said, "should government insist on withdrawal, it will be difficult for our members at the local government level to collect their monthly pension."
He appealed to the governor to reconsider the decision.
Reacting to the appeal, Kure assured the two unions of government's readiness to look into their demand, stating that his administration will ensure industrial harmony.
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