NLC denies calling for Saraki’s resignation
THE Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has denied calling for the resignation of Senate President , Dr. Bukola Saraki over his trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) .
In an interview yesterday in Abuja, the President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba said the congress operates in a collegiate that requires relevant organs jointly taking decisions which the leadership executes.
He also said NLC believes in the rule of law and would wait until the tribunal has made a final judgment on the matter.
His words: “The NLC is a credible organization which relies on the rule of law. Since the Senate President has subjected himself to the tribunal, we will wait for the tribunal to deliver its judgment before issuing any statement on the matter. NLC is not a one-man show organization. It relies on relevant organs to take decisions on every matter. No organ has met over this issue. NLC does not wish to be drawn into this controversy at all.”
The NLC chief also hinted that nobody has been authorized to speak on the travails of the Senate President, adding: “Nobody within the congress has been mandated to speak on the matter , at least for now. I did not speak to anybody on the matter and nobody in the Congress has spoken yet.”
Wabba reiterated that though NLC is determined to support the present administration in its fight against corruption, it would insist on prosecuting offenders within the purview of the rule of law.
According to him, as a law abiding institution, the labour movement believes in the rule of law and due process.
He said: “The NLC believes in the rule of law and we believe that whatever is right should be done. By our laws, the mere allegation that somebody has committed an offense does not confirm guilt until so pronounced by a court of law.
“That would be following due process and the rule of law than to midway begin to make pronouncement and criminalize people. I think what is right should be done rightly.
“I think those statements cannot be credited to us. You can consult the people that have issued those statements but certainly they are not from us. We believe in due process, we believe in the rule of law.
“We are championing the war against corruption, we also believe that we should follow due process in whatever we want to do.
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1 Comments
This may not be a joint decision of the NLC, but many of the NLC members have rightly expressed their opinion on the need for Saraki to step down. In a civilized society, nobody needs to tell Saraki that on moral grounds, he can not preside over a senate of a country when he has a case of false asset declaration in court. If Saraki is a man of integrity, the first thing he should do on Tuesday is to tender his resignation.
We will review and take appropriate action.