The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has called for increased investment in national security as Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections.
The call was made in Abuja on Wednesday at a media briefing following the Congress’ National Administrative Council meeting.
Addressing journalists, the President-General of TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo, said the meeting, among other issues, examined the state of the nation and matters affecting its affiliate unions.
He acknowledged the progress recorded by security agencies in the fight against banditry, terrorism and kidnapping, saying the collective efforts of the agencies deserved commendation.
Osifo, however, said that despite government efforts to secure the country and its citizens, more resources should be channelled towards building a sustainable security architecture.
“First, as you know, gentlemen of the press, today we’ve been facing issues of insecurity in our country, maybe in the last 15 years at best.
“In our last press briefing, we extended a thank you to the DG of the DSS for the great work that he has been doing. We’ve seen a number of convictions recently and a number of apprehensions without paying ransom.
“We still commend him on that, and we still wish that they continue in that trajectory. Same to the National Security Adviser. We know that they don’t sleep on a daily basis in order to make the rest of us sleep.”
The TUC President-General, however, noted that the country was still facing significant security challenges, citing the reported increase in kidnappings and killings in the Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas of Plateau State.
He also identified other parts of northern and southern Nigeria where, he said, kidnapping and other crimes continued to occur, urging security agencies to intensify efforts to protect residents.
“We have proposed at a time as the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria that the government should even carry out what we call a virement budget to move funds to that area to procure the necessary equipment, to procure all the necessary gadgets, to wipe out these people once and for all.”
Osifo stressed that unless Nigeria was considered safe, it would be difficult to attract both foreign and domestic investment.
“So, for us, the government should double its effort. The government should double the revenue going into fighting security. The funds going to fight the state of insecurity should be increased,” the TUC President-General said.
While commending the government for investments in sectors such as roads, power, education and health, Osifo insisted that security should receive priority attention.
The TUC President-General also called for a minute’s silence in honour of military personnel who died in a recent plane crash while on routine duty.
“At the end of this press briefing, we’re going to take a one-minute silence for the fallen heroes, those Air Force personnel whose lives were cut short, who were travelling between Benin and Lagos State, whose aircraft crashed-landed in the Ibukuda area of Ondo State.
“It’s quite unfortunate, and we commiserate with their families, because clearly for us, those military officers enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force to protect us all, and they were cut short.
“They have wives; they have children. We also learnt that the pilot just got married a few weeks ago. So imagine the devastation that could have happened to the family. We commiserate with them.”
Speaking on the death of 37 miners in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Niger State, TUC expressed dissatisfaction with the incident, describing it as unfortunate.
Osifo commended the government for what he described as a swift response in setting up a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
“Yes, we are quite happy that the government immediately switched into response by setting up a committee, but we don’t want the committee’s report to just be another report that is going to be gathering dust on the shelf.
“When the committee submits its report, we want the government to act, and act decisively.
“Whoever is culpable, no matter how highly placed, must be decisively dealt with according to the letters and the spirit of the law. So, for us in the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, we commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives.”
On the economy, Osifo said TUC had continued to engage with the government on measures to improve the country’s economic situation.
“We’ve seen that in the area of the macroeconomy, things are quite picking up. We’ve seen that in the area of inflation, it’s getting to some level of stability, and also, in the area that is bordering on exchange rates, it’s also gaining some strength,” he said.
The TUC President-General, however, expressed concern over the high cost of petroleum products and urged the government to introduce measures to reduce the hardship citizens face in their daily movement.
On issues affecting the Congress’ affiliate unions, particularly those in the health sector, Osifo called on the government and the Ministry of Health to resolve all outstanding industrial disputes to prevent disruptions in the sector.
