Four days after the sudden death of the National President of Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, the union has elected Ahmad Labbo as the new president.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that Ibrahim Khalil, the erstwhile national president of the union, slumped and died on Wednesday, October 7, in Abuja.
The union, in its National Executive Council meeting in Kano on Sunday, unanimously elected Mr Labbo as the new president to complete the deceased’s tenure.
In his address, shortly after his emergence as the president, Mr Labbo promised continue with late Mr Khalil’s struggle for Local Government autonomy.
According to Mr Labbo, he was among the foot soldiers that were fighting for the autonomy of Local Government in the country even when his predecessor was alive.
He added that the machinery for the struggle for Local Government autonomy is still on ground, vowing to continue with the fight until they achieve their mission.
Mr Labbo also stated that he would focus on the legacies established by his late predecessor, adding that he would build on unity of the union, transition programme and staff welfare as started by Mr Khalil.
“We must focus on providing better livelihood for all who are our members and staff as well as all those who shall be tomorrow. With this spirit guiding us, our challenges do not daunt us; rather they inspire us towards greatness in three key ways; namely unity of the union, transition programme and staff welfare.
“This is a clarion call to all of us to be strong and unite believing that togetherness we will uphold the principles of Ibrahim Khaleel as we know he stood for peace and unity. It is my humble believe that even in death Ibrahim Khaleel will be proud that he left behind strong and virile foot soldiers, dogged in the attainment of the ideals of the founding fathers of our great union of which our late leader upheld and pursued till his demise. I believe that together we can achieve this feat.
“The new leadership shall kick start the process of transition without delay. This was perhaps the last official task expected of our late leader before his demise. Therefore we shall keep the flag flying. Also, the union’s activities will not be halted but will be on course,” he said.
He continued “The staff of the union should as a matter of fact be expecting a better and improved welfare packages within and after the transition period. Issues of minimum wage, staff pension and promotion shall be of great importance to us. This is because we hold our staff in high esteem since we see them as the engine room of our union,” he stated.
