The National President of the Union, Prince Kingsley Ogba, made the feelings of his members known when he led national and state officials of the union on a solidarity visit to the governor at the Government House, Enugu.

Prince Ogba told the Governor that the visit was to identify with his landmark achievements which he said had touched the lives of the people in the State.

According to the NULGE National President, “we are witnesses to the rapid transformation of the state. The truth is that, that legacy, Ebe-ano, has come to be identified with good governance, democracy dividends and whatever is good, such as road construction, provision of portable water, rural electrification, among others.”

Prince Ogba observed that Enugu, which used to be neglected in the past, is now a place where every Igbo man and every Nigerian was proud to be associated with.

He described Governor Nnamani as a true friend of NULGE who openly identified with the cause of the local government during the last zonal sitting for the review of the constitution in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.

Prince Ogba submitted that, “today, we have come to make a statement in defence of democracy, in defence of good governance and in defence of grass-root because, your Excellency was the only one who openly identified with the cause of the local government at Abakaliki recently.

He therefore presented the Governor with a plaque, as the “defender of the loal government system in Nigeria” and also assured him of their implicit support, solidarity and prayers.

Receiving the delegates, Governor Nnamani described the visit as symbolic, a rare privilege which had brought the cream of NULGE executives, those entrusted with care of the locality administration in the land, to the State.

Governor Nnamani told members of the union that his government has high regard for them, because of the importance it attaches to locality administration and democracy.

According to the Governor, because democracy is about the people, it is also about the grassroots, and no other group of public servants are in closer touch with the grassroots than NULGE. He also added that the character of NULGE could be used as a litmus test for the progress of the nation state, in the areas of patriotic zeal and human capacity building.

The State Chief Executive pointed out that the very essence of governance is the welfare of the people, adding that whatever government does that does not address the welfare of the people at the locality was a nullity. He however noted that NULGE, through the local government administration, had, more than other systems guaranteed adequate delivery and welfare of the people, especially those at the grassroots and commended them for that.

He also described NULGE as a major change agent needed for the success of the on-going reform programmes in the land, since they are very close to the people and have the capacity to carry them along.

The Governor noted that “part of the problem, the restiveness, and the hostility in the land is that stakeholders are not involved in the decision-making process, they are not partners and have no stake in it,” and said that for the reform process to be successful, it has to be stakeholder-driven, involving a level of acculturation, habit changing and above all, communicate with men and women who run the engine of the local government.

He praised officials of NULGE for their tenacity and strength to withstand the regular changes witnessed in the local government system in the land and the vagaries of the political behaviour of the politicians, especially how they decipher those who are for the people and those who are against them.

The Governor used the occasion to also acknowledge and pay respect to NULGE officials in the State for their humility, mature approach to issues and understanding, in the face of the changes observed in the system.

National Executives, State President and other officials of NULGE from all the States of the Federation were present during the visit.