Stories by Bimbola Oyesola 08033246177
Recently, the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) took its autonomy campaign for the Local Governments to the palace of Ooni of Ife, the highest stool of traditional rulers in Yoruba land, the South West of the country.
Led by the National President, Khaleel Ibrahim, the NULGE entourage has sought for the blessings of Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, as it continues in the advocacy for the local government autonomy.
At the palace, the members of the union from Lagos, Oyo and Osun were treated to lots of information and documentary on the foundation of Yoruba land and Ife culture.
The Ooni’s arrival was with pomp and pageantry with praise singers and some other cultural troupes performing as he made his ways to the stools.
After a brief introduction, the National President of NULGE, Khaleel said it was a great fulfilment for the Local government workers being giving opportunity to visit the historic palace of Ooni of Ife to pay homage to Ooni and the entire people of the state.
Khaleel said the union has embarked upon nationwide advocacy campaign due to the poor state of Local Government administration across the country.
According to him, “we are here to pay homage and take the advocacy to palaces and royal fathers and we are starting from here. The role of this palace in the country shows it is not by accident or sheer coincidence but deliberately chosen bearing in mind how close the palace is to the people and the God we all serve.
“You will agree, your majesty, that the purpose of creating local governments has been defeated and we think as workers we must make people know. We want better constitutional reforms to make local governments perform better.
“The process and the funds meant for local government administration have been hijacked and it is time for all Nigerians to come together and canvass through a peaceful process for a better local government administration.”
Khaleel argued that local government administration has suffered in the hands of the governors due to lacuna in the Constitution.
He stated that if the National Assembly and the State Assemblies can correct this deficiency in the law, it would be better for the country’s overall development.
He emphasised five major areas where he sought for the support of the Oni of Ife, which include: expunges of state independent national electoral commission and allows only INEC to conduct election across all tiers of government; expunges of constitutional provision that established state/local governments joint accounts, stating that what belongs to Ceaser must be given to Ceaser; creation of local government commission and put a stop to discrimination against local government workers in the civil service; provision of constitutional roles for traditional rulers and salaries of primary school teachers to be first line charge direct from the federal government instead of being administered by local government authorities.
Khaleel said if these could be achieved, then the aim of the nation’s forefathers of making the country a better place would be achieved.
In his reaction, Ooni of Ife, His Majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, commended the representatives of NULGE for chosen to visit his palace first and promised to team up with them as they are the one nearer to the people like the traditional rulers.
He said it was a step in the right direction, wondering why they have not taken the step before now, he stressed that the advocacy through the traditional rulers is long overdue.
“Your advocacy is long overdue. You should have engaged the traditional institutions to right the wrong because we are all interested in development of the entire population. The closest government to the people are the local government authorities.
“I assure you, we will work together to get it to a logical conclusion. This is because if you are being denied your right and you keep quiet, it is not right. If all the 774 local governments can be properly funded, development will spread faster than we envisaged.
“It is important to work together with the traditional institution to right the wrongs. We will work on it together to get it to the logical conclusion”, he said.
HR professionals hold 7th Future-Ready confab in Nigeria
Come this Wednesday, May 24th, 2017, Lagos Nigeria will once again play host to another international event as hundreds of HR professionals gather for the 7th Future-ready HR Conference organised by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Nigeria.
This conference, which has trended on social media and captured the attention of Human Resources professionals in the past weeks, is unique in its focus on technology, data and analytics as changing the practice of human capital management.
According to Winifred Mena-Ajakpovi, SHRM member and conference organiser, “this year’s conference promises to be the single largest congregation of HR professionals in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) at this time.”
The event, scheduled to hold on May 24th, 2017 at the Institute of Directors, Ikoyi, Lagos, commencing from 9:00 am till 5:00 pm, will feature experts, who will discuss approaches, tools, methodologies & best practices affecting employers and employees, towards achieving the optimally productive workplace, at the HR Conference.
With the 2017 edition, the conference upholds its ranking as the event where leading HR Practitioners gather to learn, network & share ideas.
“With six renowned speakers, including Yetunde Kanu, Partner at KPMG and Brad Boson, the Chief Executive of SHRM MENA, the conference has become the most talked-about HR Conference with over 80,000 likes, clicks and shares from the HR community on social media each week,” says Mena-Ajakpovi.
Organised by the Society for Human Resource Management Member Forum in Nigeria, the conference has remained a well-attended event year-after-year, and is designed to share best practices amongst senior and growing HR practitioners in Nigeria and across all of Africa.
The full day agenda boasts of 6 sessions, one mini-exhibition, and a networking & interactions session for attendees and sponsors.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR professional society, representing 285,000 members in more than 165 countries.
For nearly seven decades, the Society has been the leading provider of resources serving the needs of HR professionals and advancing the practice of human resource management.
SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates. The Society was founded in 1948.