Moses Oba
Miffed by the lethargy of President Muhammadu Buhari and the anti-corruption agencies over the high-level of corruption uncovered at the Niger Delta Development Agency (NDDC), the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), labour has resolved to embark on a nationwide protest by next week.
Speaking during a media chat with journalists in Abuja over the weekend, the President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Quadri Olaleye, called on all workers and Nigerians to prepare for a nationwide protest over unresolved issues of corruption in the country.
Already, the TUC President, who hinted that the nationwide protest will take place in the second week of August, disclosed that labour has already begun mobilization of the workers; while also working together with the civil society organizations across the country.
He pointed out that the congress, for example, has been meeting with all its states executives and the civil society organizations to sensitize their members and Nigerians on the protest, adding that the fight is for all Nigerians.
The TUC president said: “We have had meetings with our state executives and other civil society organizations, we are on sensitization level now. The fight is for all of us. We can’t fold our hands to allow the country to continue being run the way it is. We will give an ultimatum to the government.”
When asked about the specific time of the action, he said: “By the second week in August, we should be able to mobilise our people to move out to start that protest.”
He regretted that President Buhari and the anti-corruption agencies have refused to take specific action especially on the NDDC and the EFCC, adding that the purpose of the protest, therefore, is to ensure that the Presidency take decisive action on the issue of corruption not only in NDDC, NSITF and the EFCC but all through the system of governance.
He said, “our aim for the protest is to enforce the Presidency and the anti-corruption agencies to take immediate action that would stop other people from going to that trade. They ( President and the anti-corruption agencies) are all silent. We want to enforce them to take action immediately. If action is not taken, others will see it as an opportunity.”
Comrade Olaleye pointed out that Labour is also a partner in running the economy of the nation, as the majority of the populace are workers.