Prioritise People's Welfare, Release LG Fund To Avert Further Suffering - Group Urges FG

Read Time:1 Minute, 53 Second

A civil society group, the Concerned Citizens Network for Change (CCNC), has urged the Federal Government to prioritise the welfare of the people above politics, adding that continued delays in the release of Local Government allocations will worsen the suffering of residents at the grassroots.

This is as the group gave the Federal Government a three-day ultimatum to resolve issues surrounding the withholding of local government funds in Osun State.

Addressing newsmen in Osogbo, on Monday, the spokesperson of the Group, Comrade Raufu Sodiq, said the withholding of the fund has continued to inflict hardship on ordinary citizens, especially workers and residents who rely heavily on services provided at the local government level.

He also urged the FG to give the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, a 3-day ultimatum, to ensure the release of the withheld allocation and ensure that the funds are judiciously used by all LG in the state.

He said, “The CCNC warns that if the Federal Government fails to act and get this issue completely resolved within 3 Days, we will be forced to adopt more drastic measures, including confrontation, to seek justice, this will be done Nationwide.

“We urge the Federal government to prioritize the welfare of the masses and release the withheld funds to prevent further suffering and they should not politicize further the local government issue in Osun state.

“CCNC will always stand for justice and protect the rights of our people without looking back, we want to repeat that we will never be allowed to be a tool in the hands of any government, all we want is good governance, effective security, and better employment that will aid good living conditions.

“We don’t want Osun local government fund politicized any further, and we want to remind the federal government that Osun state is not the only state that has not fully implemented the local government autonomy and Osun state people should not be made to suffer unnecessarily.

“We also demand that the FG give the Central Bank of Nigeria 3 3-day ultimatum from this Press release to ensure the Release of the Withheld fund and to ensure that the released funds is Usable by all the Local Governments in the state.”