The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has demanded accountability from political office holders, as Nigeria celebrates 2018 democracy Day on Tuesday, May 29.
Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President, stated this in a statement on Monday in Abuja where he congratulated Nigerian workers on the commemoration of the day.
Wabba said, “We reason that Nigerian workers are frequently turned into cannon fodder by the Nigerian political elite in their high stakes political games and mindless scramble for the commonwealth.
“Despite escalating costs of living, devaluation of the Naira and general hardship in the land, the Nigerian workers are still forced to survive on N18, 000 as minimum wage with not a few states owing backlog of salaries and pensions.
“Pensioners in not a few states wallow in misery and unimaginable suffering, while the political elite led by state governors take in advance whopping severance packages to which they are not entitled in the first place.
“How well has this democracy uplifted the spaces where we live and work? Without prejudice to the effort of this government, our infrastructure is still in tatters. Our roads are impassable and public electricity supply remains epileptic.
“Our schools and health facilities have become sorry relics of what they used to be in the first decade post-independence,’’ he said.
He also noted that the spate of killings, violence and insecurity across the country had further traumatised the hapless citizenry.
He said in the light of the foregoing, May 29, Democracy Day should not be devoted to false homage to democracy.
He said that rather, it should be devoted to soul-searching and truth-telling, and commitment from all and Nigerians.
“This day avails us a great opportunity to demand for accountability from our leaders, especially, governors, and also from ourselves as citizens of a great country that has potential to be greater.
“It is a day for us to shift from our pliant position as citizens to a position of virility, vitality, proactivity or of asking questions, especially, those who have appropriated the machinery of democracy to feather their nests.
“This May 29 must be seized by those who have been under-served by the chefs manning our democratic kitchen.
“This May 29 must be captured by those who have been left behind in our democratic journey.
“There is no better time to demand for accountability from political office holders than now.
However, Wabba said, “Yet, despite the inability of our democracy to put on the table our expectations, it still remains the best form of government’’ he said.
