NLC Wants Death Sentence For Looters

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday called for capital punishment for those who looted over N30billion pensioners’ money in the country.

NLC President Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar who spoke during an interactive session between National Pension Commission and workers in Benin, Edo State, said though the matter was in court, the congress will monitor the case closely so that the matter does not become another fruitless probe.

Comrade Omar warned employers, both in public and private sectors, who failed to remit the money deducted from the workers of the consequences, noting that pension is the lifeline of retirees and that any assault on this must be taken very seriously.

“It is like sentencing those pensioners to early death; therefore, their punishment should be maximal. That is what we are saying: that it should not be treated with kids’ glove. It is something very serious. How can a few people contrive and remove over N30 billion of pensioners’ money - not even Federal Government oil money, but pensioners’ money!

“It is like they are being allowed to walk freely in the streets. Anyway, we are going to continue to watch. Even though some of the cases are in courts, we will continue to monitor them and we want to make sure that very resounding example is made of those people, because if nothing is done to them and their cases go the same way other cases go, I think that Nigerian workers, particularly pensioners, should not be blamed when they react the way they would react.”

He disclosed that the congress and the NPC would work together against any employers who failed to implement the provision of the Act.

According to the NLC boss, it is unfortunate and unlawful that eight years into the application of the Pension Reform Act in 2004, there are still states and private sector employers that have not implemented the contributory pension scheme.

The union leader also advice all affiliate unions of the congress to appoint pension desk officers while providing Group Life Assurance policies for their employees in continuation of efforts designed to ensure greater social protection for Nigerian workers. He also promised that the era of employers deducting money from workers without remitting was over.

According to him, “It is one of the key issues in this interactive session. We are going to fashion out ways of approaching those people to get them to see reason to remit appropriately, but if they don’t, of course they have to bear the brunt. The laws must be visited on them and they must bear it”.