*To mobilise Nigerians for mass protest
Matthew Asabor
Lagos — The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has vowed to reclaim Nigeria from what it described as insignificant few.
In a statement, the TUC President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, said, the corrupt activities going on in government ministries, agencies and parastatals is disturbing and vowed to call out members to reclaim Nigeria from an insignificant few that have cornered the wealth of the country to themselves and cronies.
He stated that, the revelations at the National Assembly during the recent probe on the activities at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the collapse of the Commission’s Managing Director, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, are nothing but a national disgrace, which have invariably made the country to become a joke before the international community.
‘’How could all these happen in a region without potable water, good schools and road network? How could NDDC spend N122.9m for condolences when there is no good hospital for the sick? Why should this happen in a region where governors are saying they do not have the financial strength to pay the new minimum wage? Yet our leader, Muhammadu Buhari is celebrated world wide as anti corruption czar’’
‘’NDDC like others are jinxed and everyone placed in charge of them steals from them and threatens whistleblowers. Until the government in power ceases to see appointments as political settlement, the country will not make any significant progress’’ he fumed.
Olaleye said that developments have shown that it is not a matter of a particular political party, rather there is a gang up against the state and Nigerians, reason they want to remain in power is to cover their evil tracks, they serve out their tenures as governors and work their way to the Senate or House of Representatives just to maintain their grip on the treasury.
The TUC boss queried why the National Assembly members should leave the business of making laws to pursue contracts, awarding it to themselves, receive payment upfront but never move to site.
He called on Nigerians to learn from what is happening now and stop trading their destinies and that of their children for packs of indomie, matches and wrapper materials, saying, the current level of corruption now is far more than what the county had since independence, as It is getting worse by the day.
He urged the President not to sweep the current cases under the carpet, he added that ‘for once let action be taken and culprits seriously dealt with like it is done in most climes, as the Congress shall henceforth take serious action against government policies because you cannot keep telling the people to tighten their belts while you loosen yours’
He described the hike in electricity tariff, VAT, increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as fuel as inhuman and opportunity only for the criminals in government to loot the money.
‘’To this end TUC is going ahead to mobilise the general public for a mass protest against the government and its institutions’’ Olaleye said.
