Hammed Benco during his speech at Eagle FM

The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ogun State Council, Comrade Hamed Benco, has criticised the federal government over its delay in implementing financial autonomy for local governments, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

It would be recalled that on Thursday, July 11, 2024, a seven-man panel of Supreme Court Justices led by Justice Garba Lawal delivered the ruling that the 774 local government areas (LGAs) be given full financial autonomy across the federation.

Exactly ten (10) months after the ruling, speaking during a media briefing with correspondents of Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese Ijebu, Com Benco described the development as “anti-human” and “unjustifiable”, stating that the entire workforce of the NLC stands against the stall in implementation.

Accepting only an executive order can hasten the judgement. Benco called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene and ensure that all relevant government authorities comply with the court’s directive.

“I want to use this opportunity to charge the President of the Republic—Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu—to proactively compel all necessary hierarchies of government to do the needful in salvaging the financial autonomy of local governments in Nigeria,” he stated.

Commenting on the bill seeking to domesticate the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights in Nigeria sponsored by Hon. Akin Alabi, Benco noted that the bill has reached an advanced stage in the 10th National Assembly. He expressed confidence that with the joint efforts of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the bill would be passed and enforced nationwide.

“The best approach right now is to support this bill. I strongly believe that the leadership of NLC and TUC will push it through to ensure that it becomes law, and once it does, we stakeholders will ensure it is fully implemented across all levels of the workforce in Nigeria,” Benco affirmed.