Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has condemned calls by Kwara State Governor Ahmed Abdulfattah for local government administration to be removed from the constitution.

In a press statement by its National Publicity Secretary Abdulrahman Mutawalli, NULGE argued that the local government system remains the closest to the grassroots and the most potent means by which to better the lives of the poor.

Mutawalli added that, "those calling for the non inclusion of the third tier of government in the constitution are just doing so based on their selfish interest which will spell doom to this country. People in the local government understand their need more than others who are far away.

"It also constitutes an effective weapon channelling local pressures, articulating and aggregating local interest which may not necessarily coincide with ideas of the central government. What it means is that local government to an extent can be the seedbed of democracy."

He added that, "the words of Kwara State Governor and a handful of legislators is very unfortunate. Your Excellency, support local government autonomy for greater and speedier development."

He maintained that local government provide many areas for training in public management and afford opportunities for participation in public life to many more public spirited citizens than would ever have had a chance.

"Any attempt to remove local government administration in the Nigeria Constitution can only spell doom for effective governance and efficient administration of that level of government. So, all hands should be on deck to enhance the system through proper constitutional provisions for service delivery through improved funding, better supervision and control, meaningful autonomy, reduction in the burden of personnel overhead in relation to political office holders and an inbuilt mechanism for assessing the performance level of local governments."