Saraki challenges NLC on anti-graft war

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, says it was time for workers to help the government succeed in decisively and successfully tackling the corruption menace once and for all.

Saraki while addressing the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) lead by its President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba who visited him in Abuja, challenged Nigerian workers to play their part in the war against corruption which has crippled some segments of the country.

He said the Senate under his leadership was ready to work for Nigerians despite the erroneous impression being currently propagated by some persons outside the Senate.

He noted that while the Senate has interacted with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), it also intends to engage the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to look at the areas where the National Assembly can assist to ensure that the fight against corruption is efficiently prosecuted with positive results that will be glaring for all to see.

He added that people use to give excuses that when they blow the whistle on corrupt practices nothing was done because the system is corrupt right from the top but that such excuse was no longer tenable.

“We are assuring you that at the executive side, we have elected the President that will do it well. I am making the commitment on behalf of the National Assembly and myself that we are committed to fighting corruption. If you remember, I was the one that single-handedly in 2011 opened the lid on the fuel subsidy scam that everybody is talking about now.

Read also: Blackmail won’t blur my vision – Saraki

“But at the end of the day, who are those people working in these places. They are Nigerian workers. They are not workers from anywhere else. So, I think I will also throw the challenge, now that we are getting the message that the political leadership is ready to take on this thing called corruption. I think we need the cooperation of our workers who know it all. They see it happen and when you look at the anti-corruption agencies, with all due respect, you will find out that 80 per cent of some of the cases are cases at the state level.

“You hardly see where people who are the real engine room which is the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation or where most of these corruption cases on oil are being put on trial”, he said.

Earlier in his remarks, the National President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said that Nigerians are confident that the 8th Senate led by Saraki will impact positively on their lives.

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