Plateau NLC pledges support for looted funds recovery

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Plateau State yesterday staged a rally to support the fight against corruption in the country with a call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong to ensure that all stolen funds are traced and recovered.
The state chapter of the NLC staged a walk from the old Government House in Rayfield to the new Government House in little Rayfield, Jos, where they were addressed by Governor Lalong.
NLC chairman, Jibril Banchir, urged that all recovered funds be kept in a special account and appropriated for job creation, funding educational infrastructure as well as revamp the health care infrastructure. 
Banchir said “corruption prevents the provision of basic social amenities for the citizenry as the money meant for development is often pocketed by a few, thereby making governance impossible. Non payment of salaries has been attributed to corrupt practices of state governors, who have gone into heavy borrowing from the banks to carry out huge projects they clearly have no capacity for. They use them as conduit pipes to siphon public funds into their pockets while some use the money meant for the state to campaign for re elections.”
He said it is important for everyone to join hands in the fight against corruption, adding that the “federal government should set up special anti -corruption courts to try corruption cases in the country, realising that those who have looted our treasury have become adept at using the loopholes in procedure of regular courts to delay and in several cases subverting the course of Justice.”
Addressing the rally, Governor Simon Lalong said the state government would continue to support the fight against corruption and was doing everything possible to recover the funds stolen by officials in the previous administration.
Lalong, who was represented by the deputy governor, Sonni Tyoden, described corruption as a cankerworm which has eaten deep into the society.