TUC Urges Probe Of Political Leaders Over Use Of Bailout Funds
The National Executive Council of the Trade Union Congress has called on the Federal Government to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission
(ICPC) to probe the use of bail out and Paris funds by Political Leaders.
Speaking during the meeting of the NEC, the president, TUC, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama disclosed that the NEC observed that the bailout and Paris funds were not used for the purposes they were meant for.
“The bailout funds and the Paris funds have become the latest source
of corruption among our political leaders. The NEC calls on the federal Government to direct the EFCC, ICPC to probe the use of the funds”, he said.
Meanwhile, he disclosed that the NEC-in-session observed the omission or non-inclusion of TUC in boards of parastatals and government agencies in matters that concern employees.
TUC called for review of all laws in which one labour centre is namedand the other left out so that representation will be fair and just to all workers.
Kiagama stressed that the NEC condemned the delay to constitute the 29 members committee for National Minimum Wage for the country and therefore demanded that the minimum wage implementation should be
holistic and not selective.
“The House calls on the Federal Government not to task the patience of workers beyond limit as the current wage structure is no longer tenable when viewed against the economic reality on the ground.
“ The NEC- in session further condemns the suggestion by the Vice President that the minimum wage would be selectively implemented on Nigerian workers as retrogressive and therefore unacceptable. Minimum
wage is for all and remains and should remain in the exclusive list”, he said.
The TUC boss said that the NEC- in session observed that government parastatals like the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) whose activities could boost government’s economic diversification programmes are not given adequate financial subventions as at when due.
“The NEC- in session strongly advises the federal government to urgently revive BOA and NERFUND through adequate funding to enable them extend appropriate finance for economic programmes, particularly to farmers in the rural areas and small scale businesses”, he added.
In the same vein, the NEC called on the Federal Government to put a
commission in place to regulate the operations of secondary school education in Nigeria.
“The NEC- in session observes that unlike other tiers of education in the country, there is no commission in place to regulate the operations of secondary school education in Nigeria. This is in spite of the fact that the bill for the setting up of this commission was passed into law more than a decade ago.
We call on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, put in place this commission so that the much desired changes can be seen in the operation of our secondary education in Nigeria”, he said.