A group of former labour leaders in the country have hailed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the invitation of close to twenty five staff of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) over issues of corruption in the trade union.
In a statement jointly signed by Andrew Emelieze, Convener, Congress of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (CSCSN), former chairman ASCSN Oyo State, former chairman TUC Oyo State, former member of ASCSN’S National Executive Council, former member ASCSN National Delegates Conference, former member TUC National Executive Council and the Coordinator, All Workers Convergence (AWC), also confirmed the interrogation of the Kwara state secretary of the union, Comrade Joseph Meshech by the anti-graft agency.
“The invitation of ASCSN officials by the EFCC has justified the agitations of some activists in the labour movement in Nigeria that massive corruption is going on in our different industrial unions.
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“Groups like the All Workers Convergence (AWC) and the Congress of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (CSCSN) have been raising alarm over the rot in the labour movement especially in the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) which has assumed a crisis situation.
“Most unfortunately, the response from members of the union has been docile and nonchalant, even the media has not given adequate attention to our query over the privatization of the labour unions in Nigeria except for a few radical journalists that have been following our challenge against the labour bureaucracy in Nigeria.
The group also called on the EFCC to do a thorough job and ensure that they do not compromise, “as we are aware that there are lots of petitions against ASCSN in the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies.”
“Other anti-graft agencies are also called upon to swing into action and investigate the corruption in ASCSN. We are also calling on the mass media to interrogate the allegations of corruption in ASCSN.
“The world can now see why the embattled de facto Secretary General of ASCSN has refused to retire at sixty years in line with public service rules and at over sixty five years he has succeeded in demonizing the union and promoting mass fraud in the union.
“We now know why Lawal has been manipulating members of the union to stay in office beyond sixty five years. We now know why Lawal has plotted the removal of the President of ASCSN Comrade Bola Innocent Audu and we now know why Lawal has sacked close to twenty young Nigerian workers in ASCSN within a month.