The newly elected President of the Edo State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, Comrade Clifford Daudu, has warned that there will be a strike in all 18 local government areas if salary arrears and statutory deductions are not paid by the end of October.
In a press conference held in Benin City, Daudu urged local government chairmen to pay the salary arrears and unremitted deductions immediately.
He said many local government workers in Edo State have not been paid their salaries since 2017, which has caused serious hardship for them.
Daudu criticized the management of the councils for not remitting statutory deductions from workers’ salaries, which he said amounts to millions of naira. “The NULGE has written several letters to the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, and we held a meeting where it was agreed that payments would begin in June 2024. However, as of October 2024, the councils have not kept their promise, despite many reminders from our Union,” he said.
He emphasized that even with increased allocations from the federal government and improved internal revenue generation, it is unacceptable that these payments are still not made.
Daudu warned, “If our demands for payment are not met, the Union will not hesitate to mobilize its members for a total shutdown of the councils by the end of October.”
