Official activities remained paralysed in local governments following workers’ withdrawal of service, and residents have lamented the hardship caused by the paralysis.
Recall that the Osun State Council of Nigeria Labour Congress withdrew the service of workers in all the local government areas across the state following the rights crisis to administer the local government between elected public functionaries on the platform of All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party.
The two political parties remained adamant about their own interpretation of existing judgements delivered at varying times by State, Federal, and Federal Courts of Appeal and laid claim to the right to govern at the third tier of government in the state.
LEADERSHIP’s visit to some local government secretariats revealed the absence of hustling and bustling that used to characterise the secretariats daily apart from weekends.
While it may be difficult to determine exactly how much each local government area has lost in terms of internally generated revenue since the logjam, an accountant in one of the council areas who spoke on condition of anonymity said his council has lost millions of naira.
He noted that the spillover of financial loss will surely have long-term adverse effects on the finances of local government, adding that it may not be easy to recover the loss of the present predicament if allowed to persist.
Mrs Titilayo Agbede, a staff member in one of the local governments, was primarily concerned about her inability to receive her salary.
Agbede said her inability to access her February salary is already taking a toll on her family’s survival as a widow, adding that her children’s needs are mostly affected as she can no longer afford the basic daily requirements for their daily survival.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP in Osogbo, Tayo Ogedengbe from Atakumosa West local government lamented his inability to collect his certificate of local government origin under processing.
Ogedengbe, who claimed to be in a dilemma, regretted that he was supposed to attach the document with others for a job interview scheduled for Wednesday, March 5th, 2025.
Meanwhile, there seems to be no immediate solution to the imbroglio caused by the continued laying of claim to local government administration across Osun State by political functionaries who are supposed to serve the state’s people.
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