NULGE Debunks Report On Strike Suspension, Insists Workers Remain United

The Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) has dismissed as false and misleading a report claiming that council workers in the state have resolved to end their seven-month-old strike.

In a statement issued on Wednesday in Osogbo, the union described the report titled “Osun LG Workers Vow to Resume Work” as a fabrication aimed at causing confusion among members and misleading the public.

According to the Osun NULGE President, Comrade Nathaniel Ogungbangbe, no meeting of local government employees or their representatives was convened to decide on suspending the ongoing industrial action. He stressed that only a properly constituted congress of the union has the authority to take such a decision.

The union maintained that the gathering of “Heads of Local Government” and other professional groups, as referenced in the report, does not represent NULGE’s structure or decision-making organs.

“The strike remains a legitimate industrial action embarked upon in defence of the rights and welfare of our members,” the statement emphasized.

NULGE also rejected allegations that its leaders had boycotted the purported meeting while “feeding fat” on political patronage, describing the claim as blackmail and a smear campaign. It insisted that its struggle is neither politically motivated nor self-serving, but is anchored on protecting the welfare of workers and safeguarding governance at the grassroots.

“There is no crack in our ranks. The union remains resolute and united. We urge our members and the public to disregard the report in its entirety as nothing but propaganda designed to weaken our struggle,” the statement noted.

Reaffirming its commitment to the industrial action, the union assured workers across the 30 local governments and the area office that it will not succumb to intimidation, threats, or falsehoods.

It further described those behind the report as “faceless individuals who are enemies of Osun State, enemies of local government workers, and enemies of Governor Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke’s administration.”