The Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), has petitioned President Muhammad Buhari, seeking an immediate investigation of state governors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Commission, ICPC, over alleged looting and mismanagement of public funds.
In a letter, titled: ‘Reviving the Economy: Our Response to Governors Prescriptions by its President, Ayuba Wabba‘, the NLC faulted the State governors recent recommendations to revive the nations ailing economy.
The recommendations include elimination of PMS subsidy/under-recovery estimated at N6-7 trillion, early retirement of civil servants from age 50 and above, implementation of the reviewed Oronsaye Report, putting an end to financing governments budgetary expenditures, converting its N19 trillion debt into a 100-year bond, putting a final stop to petrol subsidy, eliminating NNPCs federation-funded projects, capping Social Investment Programme (SIP) and National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy budgets at N200 billion, eliminating extra-constitutional deductions from FAAC and reducing National Assembly constituency projects among others.
However, the NLC in its letter dismissed the majority of the proposals as not only selfish but also cruel. The letter read in part: While we do agree that the economy needs revitalisation, we are dismayed by some of the prescriptions of the governors as they smack of extreme selfishness and insensate cruelty. We find it unrealistic, insensitive and hypocritical. It is on record that governors have always been against the culture of saving for the rainy day. In spite of this culture of recklessness predating your administration, few of them have anything to show for all the money they have collected.
“If there is little or nothing to show for the principal sums or revenues collected over the years, what assurance do we have that the additional sum on top of the principal popularly called subsidy (most of which is shrouded in mystery and crime anyway) can be put to effective use? Coupled with this, we find it distasteful that petrol subsidies in Nigeria create distortions in the economy but they do the opposite in the US and Western Europe”.
“Truth is that removal of the little benefit the average person in Nigeria enjoys could lead to unintended consequences which we would be better off without”, it stated.
