.

…Calls for quick passage of the electoral act

…As SNCN inaugurates Abuja chapter of anti-corruption campaign network

By Emmanuel Elebeke

The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrd. Ayuba Wabba has called for the application of capital punishment for corruption in Nigeria.

He argued that corrupt people in Nigeria, especially the political class should also face the consequences of capital punishment for us to address the issue of corruption in the country.

The NLC President made the call at a roundtable dialogue with Labour, Trade Union and the Nigerian Union of Journalists in FCT on Positioning the Unions as active drivers of anti-corruption in Nigeria held in Abuja.

He said Nigeria has remained underdeveloped with a poor education system, weak health institutions and abandoned projects littered all over the place because of corruption.

He said it is high time Nigeria make the people the centre point of every development agenda to address the issue of corrupt and abandoned projects.

‘‘All over the world, development is centred on the people but in the case of Nigeria, it is pocket centred approach because the driving force in all that is being done is about how people can be able to enrich themselves which is responsible for politics becoming very expensive. You can see the edifice of Nigerian political elites, the best houses, cars all of these are our commonwealth.

‘‘Part of the recommendations we made which have not received attention is the onus of proof,  if I see you with a car and your earnings cant foot it, I should report you it is happening in other climes. We also said there should be a capital punishment for corrupt people especially our political elites it is happening in china

‘‘So if corruption has killed many people and we have said corruption is the reason why our educational institutions are not functioning, our health sector is not functioning, it is the reason for bad governance then if corruption has killed many people.

Also Read: COVID-19: Talk to Nigerians about delta variants, experts charge FG

‘‘I  think corrupt people should also face the consequences of capital punishment that is how we can be able to address the issue of corruption   and we are passionate about that.’’ 

‘‘NLC has remained very active in the drive against corruption, corruption has been averring in our country and that workers are at the receiving end as well as pensioners.

‘‘It is high time we collaborate with larger civil society organizations and Nigerians to address this evil that is bedevilling us. People see politics as an investment; it is not first about attending to the needs of the people but about recouping their investment in politics and the people will now partake in the second fiddle instead of being the primary objective

‘‘The priority of our political elite is white elephant projects that do not have a direct bearing on the lives of the people and in most cases, those projects will end up as abandoned projects

If you ask government officials today in all the three tiers of government how many abandoned projects do we have? Nobody will give you the correct account of those projects this is how those projects were initiated, this is how some of the funds are diverted that is why we have a mirage of projects that are abandoned. It is high time we put our thinking cap together to work together,’’ he added.

On the new electoral act, the NLC president called for speedy passage of the bill into law to ensure credible elections in 2023.

‘‘If you don’t have a credible election process you can’t have credible leaders if abinitio the electoral process is corrupt, then you can’t also address the issue of corruption because they are linked that is why we have become consistent that the current electoral bill must be passed into law accommodating all the issues that stakeholders including NLC  have agreed to make the process of our election credible, one man one vote. That is how we can hold our politicians accountable if that does not happen then certainly the system is corrupt.

He also called for a reduction in the cost of elections, which he said breeds corruption in the system.

‘‘We say no to the cost of the election being jacked up because it is an avenue for corruption. The problem is that Nigerians are very lazy even those you expect to support you will be the people to discourage you in the course of fighting corruption and Corrupt people.’’

On the issue of trying to criminalize protests by the federal government, which the bill has passed first and second reading, Ayuba said the action is illegal and it cannot be taken away from the people since Nigeria is a signatory to UN chatter on human rights.

‘‘Protest is a universal right that every citizen of the world is  expected to exercise, it is contained in the UN charter for human rights, it is contained in the African charter that is why it is domesticated in our constitution,  it cannot be taken for granted or breached  and permission is not required for anybody to protest, you only need to inform the security agencies to give you protection.’’

Meanwhile, the Say No Campaign Nigeria has taken its anti-corruption fight campaign to the next level with the inclusion of the Labour and Trade Union in the anti-graft network at the event.

The highlight of the event was the inauguration of the Abuja chapter of the anti-corruption campaign network.

Earlier in his welcome address, the co-convener of the Say No Campaign, Mr Ezenwa Nwagwu, said the idea of partnership with labour and trade union in the fight against corruption was unique in the sense that when addressed as a comrade, it comes with some reverence even among their colleagues, reasons why they want to exploit it.

He noted that the labour unions needed to be involved in the crusade because the union members were affected in their communities of birth,  residence and workplaces.

‘‘The anti-corruption fight has been outsourced to President Mohammadu Buhari but you have a role to play to make it whole. As a member of a labour union, you are affected by abandoned projects in your community of birth. Secondly,  in the community of your residence, the place where you reside wherever you are becomes your community.

‘‘Also, a community where you work and lastly the community of the affected project is the most important and most significant community. Whether you like it or not you cannot escape the consequences of lack of social amenities.

In order for this to work, we have decided to locate the people in this community who have the competence, network and are able to thrive. After seeing the engagement of the National Assembly and other bodies, we have tried to work in a way that will produce results in a unique way.

 We also found that all over communities in the country we abandoned projects,  now whether it’s ongoing or not,  you will notice abandoned projects because we are not interested. Most times this thing doesn’t work because those in the community shows a lack of interest,  and there is no way it will work.

‘‘But if we show interest as a group we will achieve better results, we have used it to fight corruption and that’s the most significant approach to the fight against corruption because the fight against Corrupt people and corruption has been abuse especially with our president Mr Buhari.

‘‘We live by the mantra of anti-corruption that’s why citizens abandoned their own project that’s why we are going to engage in this.’’

In his own remarks, the Chairman of ICPC, who was represented by Obiora  Igwedibia said the greatest impact of corruption is on the poor that suffer the pains of illegal diversion of state funds.

‘‘Corruption short-changes the poor in numerous areas of life such as health education infrastructure and security.  Corruption constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the wellbeing, national security and economy of Nigeria.’’

He urged the trade union as the eyes of the society to join ICPC in the anti-graft war, insisting that all hands must be on deck to win this war as the commission cannot fight it alone.

 On his part, the Director-General of NOA, Garba Abari,  represented by David Akoje

Said SNCN and NOA are collaborating to fight corruption using the proactive weapon of the orientation of the average citizen against a culture of greed and a get-rich-quick by all means tendency to a culture of integrity.

He said labour needs to become far more visible on the anti-corruption fight landscape to speak the mind of the people.

‘‘Labour must educate its members on the socio-economic implications of government policies. Labour should become active among its members on the issues of policy review, policy evaluation and alternative policy proposals.

‘‘Labour should actively engage the structures of government to gain buy-in and this goes beyond salary increase because the fight against corruption is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians especially labour,’’ he added.

 Highlights of the event were the inauguration of the Abuja chapter of the anti-corruption campaign network and the creation of different networks.

The Abuja roundtable was the seventh of such engagement in the country by the group and those present at the event include the representative of the chairman of ICPC, Hon Obiora, the DG of the national orientation agency,  the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Chairman of the NUJ, FCT Council among others.

Vanguard News Nigeria