By Uche Amunike
The Presidential Flag bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu has met with Labour leaders from the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress, TUC, Monday, at a town hall meeting at Chida Hotel, Abuja, where they presented him with their demands which majorly factored on a total war on corruption.
Speaking during the meeting, Tinubu stated that he transformed Lagos State and engineered it to the 5th largest economy in Africa, when he was governor of Lagos State.
He assured all present that if he became president of Nigeria, he wouldsolve the problems of unemployment, poverty, lack of credit system that will allow workers to own houses and also, the weak industrial base of the economy.
He went on to speak about the role he played in fighting for good governance all his life and how his fought tooth and nail for democracy before going into exile at the peak of National Democratic Coalition movement against the military junta in the country.
To the members of the Nigerian Labour Congress and other trade unions, he continued: ‘You have also been involved in the struggle for democracy and political rights. Your collective efforts breathe life into the democratic rights and economic ideals enshrined in our constitution.’
‘I can speak fondly of your impact on our nation because of my personal history on the frontlines of the social justice movement.’
‘I may be running for president now, but I was not always in this position. Long before I started running for the presidency, I was running away from military dictators angered by my important role in protests against them and their efforts to vanquish our democratic aspirations.’
He continued: ‘I believe that those assembled here today share the same ideals of progressive and democratic good governance. I have spent my political life advocating for the rights and interests of ordinary Nigerians as you also do. We have long been fellow travelers on the same road. I hope that we shall continue as friends and brothers.
In response, the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress presented the charter of demands of the workers to the APC presidential candidate, which included a total war on corruption.
He stated that one of the reasons why Nigeria was not making the desired progress needed was because corruption had completelydestroyed both the social and economic fabric of Nigeria across both private and public sectors.
Hear him: ‘In Nigeria, our problem is people’s problem and we must have a government that will prioritize the fight against corruption. This is the key demand for labor. We also need a government that will make socialand economic justice a priority.
In response to the condition given by the Nigerian Labour Congress, Bola Tinubu vowed that his administration would have a zero-tolerance level to corruption by strengthening the anti-corruption agencies in the country.
Some of the attendees are the NLC President, Ayiba Wabba; TUC President, Festus Usifo; Tinubu’s running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State; Secretary of the APC Campaign Council, James Faleke; Kebbi Governor, Atiku Bagudu; his contemporary in Jigawa, Abubakar Badaru and Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq (Kwara).
