- Safiu Kehinde
The Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and a faction identified as the Association of Concerned Local Government Staff are at loggerhead over the resumption of workers across the state’s council secretariats.
The faction had, according to report, directed local government workers to immediately return to their duty posts, despite an ongoing directive from the state’s Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that has kept workers off duty since February 17, 2025.
In contrast, NULGE urged its members to disregard the directive from the factional group.
The association’s Chairman, Dr. Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, issued the instruction following the faction’s declaration for resumption.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo on Saturday, the coordinator of the Association of Concerned Local Government Staff, Adedayo Adekunle, faulted the continued closure of council secretariats, labeling it illegal.
He accused the NULGE Chairman of manipulating his way into a second term in office, despite allegedly claiming that local government service was unsafe for workers.
“Despite his claim that local government service is no longer safe for staff to work, he opened local governments for the purpose of conducting his second-term election, where he succeeded in manipulating himself to win,” Adekunle stated.
He further alleged that while no security threats were recorded during the elections, maternity centers remained closed, putting women and children at risk.
“Yet, all maternity centers were locked against women and children, sentencing them to death due to the reckless shutdown of the local government service in Osun State by this desperate politician in the garb of a unionist,” he said.
Reacting, Ogungbangbe dismissed the breakaway group as illegitimate, alleging that it was being sponsored by political interests to cause division among workers.
The NULGE Chairman traced the ongoing crisis to the return of local government chairmen and councillors elected in the October 15, 2022 elections.
These officials resumed duty after securing a favorable judgment at the Court of Appeal in Akure, a move resisted by the state government.