Labour readies for showdown over corruption in NDDC

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked its members to prepare for a nationwide protest over the corruption cases within the Niger Delta Development Commission and some other government agencies.

President of TUC Quadri Olaleye during a media chat with journalists in Abuja over the weekend decried that the country has been battling with a lot of corruption.

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It came after acting managing director of NDDC, Kemebradikumo Pondei, ‘fainted’ on during his presentation at the ongoing probe of the agency by the House of Representatives over allegations of N82.5 billion of irregular expenditure in the NDDC

He said that Labour has seen clips that were very embarrassing to the nation.

He said that the pandemic has exposed the country “and I can tell you it shows that our politicians are not our friends.”

According to Quadri, the posture of the leaders shows that “they are very selfish people, they don’t care for us even though we are the ones that voted them into the office to run the affairs of the nation on our behalf.”

“In the NDDC, money meant for diplomacy ended up the hands of few people. Procedures on giving out contracts were not followed and contracts in NDDC became a sharing lots to some cabals, some few elements in the country.”

He said that Labour and other civil organisations group have started mobilizing workers around the country, to make sure that the level of corruption in the country is addressed.

On the issue of minimum wage, he said Rivers government had been avoiding Labour but would be forced to “dance to our tone” once the strike begins.

The union expects to mobilise enough for a strike from second week in August

“I think now that the government is relaxing the lockdown, labour will also mobilize, we were supposed to embark on strike but we suspended it because of the pandemic, now that the situation is moving towards normal, labour can appear in Rivers State at anytime to press on the governor our demands because it is our rights,” he added.

Quadri stressed that the minimum wage, after it has been signed some states in the country have refused to pay.

He said, “It has worsened to the extent that some of the governors are now reducing salary, cutting some percentage off workers salary without proper negotiation, giving excuses of the pandemic and that their share of the lots from the federal account will not be able to survive the state economy.”