7th June, 2016
The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC has commended the Nigerian government for rendering a transparent account of the recoveries it has made of stolen funds.
In a statement signed by its President Ayubate Wabba, it said “the quantum of these recoveries has vindicated our unqualified support for the fight against corruption and our insistence that more stringent punishment be prescribed for corruption cases.
It has similarly exposed the extent of the rot in the system and why virtually everything in the polity failed to work.”
Wabba in the statement recalled that during the national rally against corruption, workers embarked upon, “we had made the point that we must look at the bigger picture of national recovery by ensuring that recovered funds be deployed to critical infrastructure such as roads, power, key industries and other sectors capable of stimulating the economy.”
He said it was necessary to once again urge the government to deploy these recovered funds to the mentioned key infrastructure or sectors.
“We also call on the government, in spite of overwhelming challenges, not to relent in its recovery drive and its general fight against corruption, as information reveals that the recovered funds so far are just the tip of the iceberg.
“We at the Nigeria Labour Congress believe the importance of the fight against corruption cannot be overstated for a couple of reasons.
“Certainly, we as a people cannot continue to live like this, except we want to be the laughing stock of the rest of the world.” Wabba said.
He stressed that the teeming youth and the army of the unemployed in the country who look up to the country for their means of livelihood, will not fold their hands while a few privileged individuals corner the national resources.
For the war against corruption to endure, the NLC President said Nigerians as a people must be firm and resolute in their support for good governance and fight against corruption.
He called for the entrenchment of the culture of accountability, ensuring that public officers are accountable even out of office.
“In addition to strengthening the anti-corruption agencies, we call for the establishment of special courts to try corruption case.”
The statement also emphasized that the judiciary has a big role to play by ensuring timely and speedy disposal of corruption cases.
“Finally, as more recoveries are made, we expect more disclosures on not just the funds but how they are used or to be used,” Wabba said.