NLC backs EFCC in anti-corruption fight, seeks stronger whistleblower protection

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has pledged its support for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the fight against corruption, saying Nigerian workers stand firmly behind the commission’s mandate.

The NLC General Secretary and General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation-Africa (ITUC-Africa), Akhator Joel Odigie, made the pledge on Thursday when an NLC delegation paid a courtesy visit to the EFCC in Abuja.

Odigie said the visit was part of a wider ITUC-Africa campaign against illicit financial flows across Africa. He said the campaign, which had commenced in Zambia and Kenya, would extend to Uganda, Ghana and Senegal.

“Our coming today, first, is a way of solidarity. To say we are with you in this fight. Let us fight together. That more than ever before, the fight you are undertaking is on behalf of the Nigerian people, on behalf of the workers,” Odigie said.

He called for stronger whistleblowing mechanisms to enable workers who witness corruption to report such cases safely and receive adequate protection. He also linked the anti-corruption fight to labour’s demand for a living wage, arguing that funds lost through corruption could support social protection and workers’ welfare.

Odigie recalled the history of collaboration between organised labour and the EFCC, saying the relationship had weakened and needed to be revived. He also advocated stronger powers for the commission, including possible amendments to its enabling law.

Responding, the EFCC Director of Public Affairs, CE Wilson Uwujaren, who represented the Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, said the commission had moved beyond lamenting illicit financial flows to active enforcement through investigations, arrests and recoveries. He, however, acknowledged that the EFCC could not fight corruption alone.

Uwujaren urged the NLC to help revive public interest in whistleblowing and sensitise workers on how corruption affects their livelihoods. He described the NLC as a key civil society organisation and welcomed the proposal to revive the partnership between the commission and organised labour.