Labour condemns high corruption in govt agencies

Organised labour has expressed disappointment over the height of corruption being perpetrated in government ministries, agencies and parastatals.
This is even as it has threatened to hold a nationwide protest to save Nigeria from the economic onslaught being unleashed on the country by the bad eggs in the system.
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) said it was disturbed by the corrupt activities going in government’s ministries, agencies and parastatals and has vowed to call out members to reclaim Nigeria from an insignificant few that have cornered the wealth of the country for themselves and cronies.
TUC president, Quadri Olaleye, said 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, were nothing but a national disgrace.
He said, “It is indeed obvious that the country has 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 worldwide as anti-corruption czar.
“NDDC, like others, is jinxed. 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. Furthermore, 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. The 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.”
Olaleye wondered why the National Assembly members would leave the business of making laws to pursue contracts. He stated that the lawmakers award contracts to themselves, receive payment upfront but never move to site: “We hereby use this opportunity to call 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. The current level of corruption now is far more than what we have had since Independence. It gets worse by the day.”