TUC President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye | Photo by Premium TimesThe Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), has lamented the high level of corruption being unearthed in recent times in the country, especially in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and called on President Muhammadu Buhari’ to be ruthless with the culprits.
In a statement today, July 27, the TUC President, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, said that corrupt activities allegedly going on at government’s ministries, agencies and parastatals is disturbing.
Referring in particular, 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, TUC boss asked President Buhari not to sweep the current cases under the carpet, adding: “for once, let action be taken and culprits seriously dealt with like it is done in most climes.”
He described the revelation on the NDDC as a national disgrace.
He wondered how a a region, like Niger Delta without potable water, good schools and road network could be so milked, with the operatives of the NDDC spending N122.9 million for condolences.
“Why should this happen in a region where governors are saying they do not have the financial strength to pay the new minimum wage?
“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.”
The TUC boss expressed worry that even National Assembly members are so involved in corruption, leaving the business of making laws to pursuing 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, arguing that the current level of corruption is far more than what the county had since independence.
