By Chimezie Godfrey
The Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) has inaugurated the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC) leaders as anti-corruption working group in Maiduguri, Borno state.
In a statement on Monday, the Executive Director, PAACA, Eze Nwagwu revealed that the inauguration of the anti-corruption working group was part of the decisions taken by his organization and leaders of the organized Unions after a town hall meeting on Saturday at Maiduguri, Borno state.
“On Saturday, August 8, 2020,a. network of Trade Union Congress and Nigeria Labour Congress Leaders against corruption was inaugurated in Maiduguri.
“The initiative was taken after leaders of the organized unions attended a one-day town hall meeting organised by the Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA), with support from Action Aid Nigeria, geared towards co-opting the unions into the campaign against corruption and maximise their influence in the society as change agents in the anti-graft war,” he stated.
Nwagwu stated that participants were sensitized on the need to unite in the anti-corruption struggle, adding that trade and labour unions in Nigeria have the intellectual capacity to fight corruption.
According to him, the unionists were also tasked on how to develop and adopt an effective strategy in their social audit function as key stakeholders in the fight against corruption.
The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboajah, represented by Comrade Ishaku Monday, stated that corruption has been a persistent phenomenon in Nigeria, urging labour unions to join PAACA in the anti-graft war.
”Corruption has stunted the growth of our economy, fostered insecurity, poverty, promoted job losses, unemployment and has also largely impacted negatively on the welfare of workers and all citizens of Nigeria,”he lamented.
Speaking at the event, the Borno NLC chairman, Comrade Bulama Abiso, commended PAACA for bringing the town hall meeting to the state.
He pledged to carry all members of their respective unions along to ensure that social audit begins in the state with union members driving the initiative, to bring a positive change to their communities.
The state TUC Chairman, Comrade Babayo Hamman noted that the townhall meeting was a stepping stone to the next level of greater things to be achieved by the union, through commitment towards the anticorruption fight.
According to him, labour leaders in Borno State were trained on how to use social audit as an impactful community led approach to fight ccorruption and bring the menace to the barest minimum in the state.
He added that the unionists were also tasked on how to develop and adopt an effective strategy in their social audit function as key stakeholders in the fight against corruption.
