By Oscarline Onwuemenyi
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has criticised the proposed plans by the Federal Government to spend over N10 billion for festivities to mark the 50th anniversary of the nation’s independence.

It said that the event should be marked with sobriety and “deeper self-examination and commitment to the structural and institutional development of our nation,” even as it noted that the motive behind such an extravagance was doubtful given the widespread poverty and despondence among the majority of the nation’s population.

NLC, in a statement signed by the Acting Head, Department of Information and Public Relations, Mr. Onah Iduh, said it was disturbed by “the apparent signs of insensitivity on the part of our political leadership. Our worry this time derives from the huge supplementary budget submitted by President Goodluck Jonathan to celebrate the 50th Independence anniversary of our country.”

N10bn for celebration extravagant

It added that, “We are of the view that the details of the over N10 billion independence anniversary expenditure in the supplementary appropriation bill submitted by the President to the National Assembly contain very frivolous and extravagant items in the context of the mass misery and poverty in the land particularly under the prevailing cash squeeze due to the global economic crisis which government uses to deny labouring people their legitimate rights.

“While we acknowledge that 50 years of existence as a politically-independent nation ought to naturally demand of us as a people some degree of jubilation, we, in NLC, however, believe that given the popular national gloom due obviously to our stunted growth in many aspects of our political economy, our leaders ought to use the 50th independence anniversary as a genuine platform for deeper self-examination and commitment to the structural and institutional development of our nation.”