BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

NIGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday warned the Federal Government against sweeping the report of the House of Representatives Committee on Subsidy under the carpet, declaring that it would work with the lawmakers and other concerned Nigerians to ensure that all those indicted were not only brought to book, but also made to refund the looted fund.

President of NLC, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, at the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the National Union of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employees, NUFBTE, in Ogun State, ahead of the union’s National Delegates Conference, NDC, today, said everything necessary to sanitize the system must be done.

He said Nigerians must not give in to attempts to kill the report by some government officials and some vested interests outside government who planned to continue to enslave and impoverish Nigerians.

He said:  “Whatever is going on is to bring sanity to the Nigerian nation. We will continue to encourage the National Assembly. Part of what we are reflecting on ahead of the May Day, is that the subsidy probe is coming as a result of the mass protest that labour and its allies organised. It is bringing out very good information that must not be swept under the carpet as attempts to do so are being made from some quarters in government.

Aligning with National Assembly
“We are going to align ourselves with the National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives, to ensure that  the report is not swept under the carpet. We are assuring the House that we are solidly behind them, Nigerians are behind them and nothing must be swept undefined the carpet.

“Everybody who is found guilty or found wanting must be brought to book so that we sanitize the system and make sure that Nigeria moves ahead.

“We’ll resist fuel price increase”
”As long as the correct thing is not done, we will resist any attempt to further increase the pump price of the fuel. We have said it and we are now being vindicated by the report of the probe panel that corruption is endemic in the system and that by the time you deal with the corruption in the system, the issue of subsidy is going to be nothing.

“Now what came out clearly from the probe is that even in 2011, instead of the N1.3 trillion that they were claiming to have spent, the probe has shown that they have spent over N3 trillion on subsidy. Where is that money?

“If you look at this very carefully, the provision of the budget that was signed by the President of the Federal Republic had only about N260 billion for subsidy. Why did it jump from N260 billion to over N3 trillion? These are questions that Nigerians should be asking and that answers must be provided to them by those in positions of authority.”