Autonomy: FG, govs, LG chairs sign implementation agreement

The Committee on Local Government Autonomy set up by the Federal Government has concluded its meetings and signed the technical document, which is expected to be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu soon.

The National President of the National Union of Local Government Employees, Hakeem Ambali, made this known in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.

In May, the Federal Government, represented by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, filed a lawsuit to challenge the governors’ authority to receive and withhold federal allocations meant for Local Government Areas.

The suit sought to prevent state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government councils and establishing caretaker committees.

The AGF argued that the constitution mandated a democratically elected local government system and did not allow alternative governance structures.

On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court gave a landmark judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the 774 LGs in the country, noting that governors could no longer control funds meant for the councils.

The seven-member Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Garba Lawal, ruled that it was illegal and unconstitutional for governors to manage and withhold LG funds.

The apex court also directed the Accountant-General of the Federation to pay LG allocations directly to their accounts, as it declared the non-remittance of funds by the 36 states unconstitutional.

Also, on August 20, the Federal Government instituted a 10-member inter-ministerial committee to implement the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy.

The committee members include the Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN; Minister of Budget & Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu; Accountant-General of the Federation; Oluwatoyin Madein and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso.

Others are the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs Lydia Jafiya, the Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation & Fiscal Commission, Mohammed Shehu, and representatives of state governors and the local governments.

The committee’s primary goal is to ensure that local governments are granted full autonomy, allowing them to function effectively without interference from state governments.

Speaking to our correspondent on Tuesday, Ambali said, “The committee has held its final meeting and we have signed the technical document which will be transmitted to Mr President so by November end. It is expected that states will receive their allocations from FAAC. Also, I can tell you that the President is eager to receive that document. The committee worked within the time frame that was provided.”

Meanwhile, the National Union of Teachers has expressed fears about the capacity of LGs to pay the N70,000 new minimum wage to primary school teachers.

The NUT’s apprehension is hinged on the failure of the councils to implement the former N30,000 minimum wage.

Findings by our correspondent show that some LG workers in Nasarawa, Enugu, Zamfara, Borno, Yobe, and Kogi states, among others, have remained on the N18,000 minimum wage, which was approved in 2011.

However, the inability of the councils to implement the minimum wage has been blamed on the failure of the government to fully implement the LG autonomy.

Data obtained from the NUT revealed that teachers in LG primary schools were not paid the former minimum wage.

In Enugu State, for instance, LG workers were exempted from benefitting from the minimum wage though the state workers enjoyed the minimum wage salaries.

Also, Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kogi, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, Imo and Gombe States did not implement the old minimum wage for teachers at both state and local levels.

Confirming this, the General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Dr. Mike Ene said, “I can tell you that some states didn’t even implement the N18,000 minimum wage for teachers at the local level. Some governors refused to pay stating that the teachers are under the employment of the local governments.

“There should be no form of segregation when it comes to the implementation of the minimum wage. We all go to the same market. There is no specific market for local government workers. However, we commend all the governors who have come out to say that the minimum wage will be implemented across the board.

“Also, the NLC has vowed to shake the country by December should state governments fail to implement the minimum wage so I can tell you that the move by the NLC will force things into play.”

But NULGE president Ambali assured that the minimum wage would be implemented across the board when the LG autonomy commences.

“Over the years, governors have had one excuse and that is the fact that they always claimed that LGs are autonomous so they can’t negotiate minimum wage on behalf of LG workers. But the truth is that LGs were never autonomous during those periods.

“However, during the negotiation of the new minimum wage, the President brought in representatives of ALGON (Association of Local Government of Nigeria) to also negotiate and with the LG autonomy coming into play, that will be settled. The NLC has also given an ultimatum of December for all states as regards the payment of the minimum wage,” he added.

A group of North Korean defectors has provided Ukrainian authorities with leaflets urging Kim Jong Un’s troops to lay down their arms and return home.

The group delivered handwritten notes and audio messages to Kyiv, outlining instructions for surrender and directions on how to reach the South Korean embassy in the Ukrainian capital, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The Asian media outlet reports that the Ukrainian military could prompt a large number of North Korean soldiers to surrender “if proactive psychological warfare is employed,” as stated by Jang Se-yul, the group’s leader.

Washington has confirmed that 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Kursk to help recapture the region, which has been partially controlled by Ukrainian forces following a surprise offensive this summer.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, relations between Russia and North Korea have strengthened significantly, with the two nations signing a mutual defense pact last summer.

In exchange for sending troops, Pyongyang expects technological support from Moscow to advance and accelerate its nuclear weapons program.

Ukraine could develop a rudimentary nuclear bomb within months if Donald Trump pulls US military aid, a briefing paper prepared for the country’s Ministry of Defence has revealed.

The weapon would be built from plutonium and use similar technology to the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945, the report stated.

Despite giving up its nuclear arsenal in 1996, Kyivis still in control of nine operational reactors and has significant expertise on how to build the weapons.

It comes after Trump reportedly backed the shock ultimatum President Volodymyr Zelensky gave NATO last month when he seemed to demand either Ukraine is granted membership of the bloc or they would become a nuclear power.

Zelensky later clarified he had meant there was no alternative security guarantee and Kyiv has since denied they are considering building a nuclear bomb.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Donald Trump in September in New York

President Donald Trump meets with Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg in July 2017

According to The Times, the briefing paper prepared for the Ministry of Defence reads: ‘Creating a simple atomic bomb, as the United States did within the framework of the Manhattan Project, would not be a difficult task 80 years later.’

‘The weight of reactor plutonium available to Ukraine can be estimated at seven tons … A significant nuclear weapons arsenal would require much less material,’ it continued.

The bomb would be big enough to destroy an entire Russian airbase or concentrated military or industrial targets, the document’s authors concluded.

It comes as president-elect Trump has famously pledged to end the Russia-Ukraine war within a day of becoming president and has boasted of his ‘very good relationship’ with President Putin.

He has also said the invasion would never have happened if he had been in the White House and has criticised Biden’s level of support for Ukraine, despite President Zelensky being adamantly against relinquishing territory to Russia.

It comes after Zelensky last month reportedly told NATO to let his country join the group or it will get nuclear weapons in a shock ultimatum that was allegedly backed by Trump.

The leader, 46, declared his bombshell proposal at the EU summit in Brussels – stating either NATO quickly accepts Ukraine into its alliance, or it will once again become a nuclear power, German newspaper Bild reported.

Zelensky made a bombshell announcement at an EU summit in Brussels, claiming he wanted NATO to let his country join the military alliance, or Ukraine would become a nuclear power

The bomb would be big enough to destroy an entire Russian airbase or concentrated military or industrial targets, the document’s authors concluded (stock photo)

Ukraine ‘starts preparing to build a NUCLEAR bomb

Zelensky had reportedly planned to present what is being dubbed his ‘victory plan’ to the heads of state and government of the European Union, but instead made the dramatic announcement to stunned reporters.

Speaking to the former American President Donald Trump, 78, some weeks ago, the Ukrainian leader declared: ‘Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, and then they will be our defence.

‘Or we will have to enter into some kind of alliance. Apart from NATO, we do not know of any effective alliances today.’

He said Trump had agreed with his proposal before he made the statement at the summit, insisting that a membership to NATO would provide his country with the ultimate security guarantee to protect it from Russia.

Last week it emerged that Trump could propose a 800-mile demilitarised zone between Russia and Ukraine as part of a plan to end the war early.

The plans, which were outlined by three Trump staffers, would involve the zone being policed by British and European troops.

It would mean that Russia would keep its territorial gains made in Ukraine with the current border frozen in place. Kyiv would also have to assure that it would not join NATO for 20 years.

Ukrainian servicemen of the 26th artillery brigade fire an AHS Krab self-propelled howitzer toward Russian positions near the front line in the Chasiv Yar area

Ukraine ‘starts preparing to build a NUCLEAR bomb

Under the plans the US would arm Ukraine in return for preventing Russia from restarting the war. However, responsibility for manning and financing the buffer zone would fall solely on Ukraine’s European allies.

‘We can do training and other support but the barrel of the gun is going to be European,’ a member of Trump’s team told the Wall Street Journal.

‘We are not sending American men and women to uphold peace in Ukraine. And we are not paying for it. Get the Poles, Germans, British and French to do it.’

Many analysts have warned that Trump is indeed likely to reduce US military aid to Ukraine and force Kyiv’s European partners to shoulder a huge burden to maintain an adequate supply of arms – a move that would certainly pile pressure on Zelensky to consider a negotiated settlement.

‘Trump does have a legitimate point about European allies having underperformed in defence and over-relied on Uncle Sam to protect them for too long, and this is a huge wake-up call to the West,’ Dr Russell Foster, Senior Lecturer in British and International Politics at King’s College London, told MailOnline.

‘But Europe, Canada, and Australasia have let their defence spending stagnate for so long, they have nowhere near the industrial base and military infrastructure to help defend Ukraine and themselves from further aggression without American help.

‘We are likely to see major calls for defence spending and investment across NATO – but this will take years to build up and be hugely expensive at a time of economic stagnation. The future of Western defence is now looking very bleak.’

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