NLC, ITUC-Africa declare kleptocracy ‘act of war’, demand whistleblower law

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) have described kleptocracy and illicit financial flows as “acts of war” against Nigerians, calling for urgent reforms to protect public resources.

The labour organisations made the demand in a communique issued at the end of a three-day joint programme on combating illicit financial flows and kleptocracy in Nigeria, held in Abuja.

The programme brought together organised labour, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to examine the impact of corruption, capital flight and illicit financial flows on workers and the wider economy.

Presenting the communique, Comrade Eustace James of the NLC Head Office said the diversion of public resources had become a direct threat to workers’ welfare, public services and the country’s economic future.

“Kleptocracy and illicit financial flow are not abstract financial crimes committed by a distant figure. They are acts of war against the Nigerian people,” James said.

He said every naira or dollar stolen from public coffers represented resources that could have been used to provide healthcare, education, infrastructure and better wages.

The NLC and ITUC-Africa called for the enactment of a comprehensive whistleblower protection law, arguing that the existing 2016 whistleblower policy was insufficient to protect people who expose corruption.

They demanded statutory protection for whistleblowers against dismissal, intimidation and harassment, as well as safe channels for reporting wrongdoing.

“Workers are often the first to see the wrongdoing, and they must be able to speak without fear,” James said.

The organisations also called for greater independence and financial autonomy for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit and Code of Conduct Bureau.

They further demanded specialised anti-corruption courts and stronger judicial mechanisms to prevent high-profile corruption cases from lingering for years.

On transparency, the labour movement called for public disclosure of the beneficial owners of oil blocks, mining licences, privatised electricity companies and other strategic national assets.

It also demanded stricter enforcement of competitive bidding, regular audits, public access to government contract information and tougher sanctions for contract inflation, abandoned projects and ghost projects.

James said Nigeria’s capital flight and illicit financial flows were depriving citizens of resources needed for schools, hospitals, infrastructure and employment.

He criticised what he described as a system that imposes austerity on ordinary Nigerians while allowing wealthy interests to benefit from concessions and tax waivers.

The labour movement also opposed policies it said could worsen hardship, including the planned removal of electricity subsidies, arguing that reforms should protect vulnerable workers and households.

The organisations said the consequences of illicit financial flows were evident in poor public services, unemployment, migration and declining living standards.

James said the inability of government to provide wages capable of meeting workers’ needs was linked to the diversion of public resources.

He said the labour movement would no longer remain a spectator in the fight against corruption, pledging to develop a national action plan and work with civil society and state institutions to protect public resources.

The General Secretary of ITUC-Africa, Comrade Akhator Joel Odigie, said the coalition was committed to moving beyond discussions to concrete action against corruption.

“We cannot treat corruption with kid gloves,” Odigie said, warning that failure to confront corrupt networks could allow them to become stronger than institutions established to fight them.

He said the campaign for legislation protecting whistleblowers would be a major priority for organised labour and its civil society partners.

Odigie also pledged ITUC-Africa’s support for people who expose corruption, acknowledging that some whistleblowers had suffered reprisals after speaking out.

He said labour and its allies would work to protect whistleblowers while holding anti-corruption agencies accountable for the effective discharge of their responsibilities.

The coalition concluded that Nigeria’s resources must be deployed for the benefit of citizens, insisting that the fight against kleptocracy was ultimately a struggle for economic justice, decent work and accountable governance.