By Imisioluwa Afunmiso
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has pledged its support for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the fight against corruption and illicit financial flows, saying Nigerian workers stand firmly behind the Commission’s mandate.
The NLC General Secretary and General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation-Africa (ITUC-Africa), Akhator Joel Odigie, made the pledge on Thursday when he led a delegation of the union on a courtesy visit to the EFCC Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in Abuja.
Odigie said the visit formed part of a wider ITUC-Africa campaign against illicit financial flows across the continent, noting that the campaign was already ongoing in Zambia and Kenya and would extend to Uganda, Ghana and Senegal.
He said the campaign was informed by the African Union-commissioned Mbeki Panel report, which estimated that about $60 billion left Africa annually as of 2005 through tax avoidance, evasion and other illicit practices.
“Our coming today, first, is a way of solidarity. To say we are with you in this fight. Let us fight together,” Odigie said.
He called for stronger whistleblowing mechanisms to protect workers who report corruption, stressing that those who expose wrongdoing must be able to do so safely.
Odigie also linked the fight against corruption to labour’s demand for a living wage, arguing that resources lost to graft and illicit financial flows could otherwise support social protection and improve workers’ welfare.
The NLC further called for the revival of its partnership with the EFCC and canvassed stronger powers for the Commission, including possible amendments to its enabling Act to enhance its ability to investigate and prosecute offenders irrespective of their offices.
Responding, EFCC Director of Public Affairs, Commander CE Wilson Uwujaren, who represented Olukoyede, said the Commission had moved beyond “lamentation” to active enforcement through investigations, arrests and recoveries.
Uwujaren said the EFCC could not fight corruption alone and welcomed collaboration with organised labour, civil society and other stakeholders.
He also urged the NLC to help sensitise workers on the impact of corruption on their livelihoods, noting that public enthusiasm for the Commission’s whistleblowing policy had declined due to inadequate sustained civil society engagement.
Both organisations agreed to sustain collaboration, with the NLC pledging to mobilise workers in support of the EFCC’s anti-corruption mandate.