Organized labour has agreed with the remark the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo gave at the recently held Confab on corruption, that Corruption is a crime against humanity calling for the consensus of all Nigerians and their friends to identify and fight.
Comrade Issa Aremu, newly elected Vice President of IndustriALL global union made the remark while playing host to Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), who visited the Textile Labour House, in Kaduna yesterday, Monday 24th Oct.
Comrade Aremu who is also the General Secretary of the textile workers’ union said there is a linkage between the collapse of many industries in the country and endemic systematic corruption citing “addictive waivers” granted by some corrupt ministry officials in recent past as economic crimes. He said waivers through corruption “fuelled mass importation of substandard textile products at relatively cheap prices undermining local competitiveness, resulting to factory closures and mass loss of decent jobs”.
Comrade Aremu also blamed the inability of most state governments to pay salaries to corruption adding that monies allegedly stolen by public officials cannot be made available for payment of salaries. He observed that even at the dropped 50 dollars per barrel of crude oil Nigeria is still a rich country but only if corruption is tamed. He called on the media to set proper wholistic agenda for anti-corruption discourse pointing to what he cited as “bias media hysterical report” on the recent arrest of judges when there was very little proportional search light of the allegations against the affected judges and the implication of such impropriety for public welfare and security. Comrade Aremu said even freedom to form trade unions as contained in Nigeria labour laws had been repeatedly violated by some employers who “buy judgments” to deny unionization and decent work especially in the private sector of the economy adding that the fight against corruption is “a total commitment” for organized labour.
While praising Buhari administration for the unprecedented “mainstreaming of the battle against corruption, notwithstanding the imperfections of the anti-corruption agencies”, Comrade Aremu said there was an urgent need for a national strategy against the curse of graft which he said is already killing the old-term culture of industry, enterprise and labour productivity in the country. He therefore called on President Buhari to revisit 2014 National Conference Report and implement some measures therein that would deepen the government war against corruption. Some of the measures he said included the need for Anti-corruption Agencies, (ACAs) particularly the EFCC and ICPC should be made proactive to tackle any corruption case that is in the public domain or has come to their knowledge without waiting for a petition adding that the 2014 confab had recommended that it “shall constitute an act of misconduct, criminal negligence or dereliction of duty, with appropriate sanctions for the ACAs to refuse to act on any corruption case that has come to their knowledge.”
The Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) he said should be empowered to invite anyone living above their means to explain their source of wealth adding that “If the agencies are unsatisfied with explanations for the acquisition of such wealth, the person shall be charged to court. Upon conviction, the person shall forfeit the entire proceeds from corruption”. He also suggested that “A special account should be opened and designated as Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) into which all recovered proceeds of corruption shall be paid into”.
In his remark Mr Ibrahim Magu, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said more than ever before there was hope for Nigeria because according to him President Buhari has shown “demonstrable political” will to kill corruption before it kills Nigeria”.
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