•Chief Lucky Nosakhare Igbinedion Photo:Sun News Publishing

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The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has blasted the federal government, the judiciary and the EFCC for a soft landing granted the former governor of Edo State in the fraud trial he has been facing.

The union said the plea bargain option granted Igbinedion defeats the government claims of fighting corruption.
The congress recommends that for justice to be done, former governors found guilty must be jailed and not allowed to enter into plea bargain and their ill-gotten assets seized or just given a pat on the back by asking them to pay fines.

TUC believes that the government in concert with the judiciary is trying to protect ex-governors from going to jail when common thieves are languishing in prisons. It states that it is because of these injustices that credible Nigerians like Gani Fawehinmi and noble laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka are annoyed with the system thereby rejecting awards given them and the prize money.

The body also hailed Prof. Wole Soyinka for donating the prize money placed on the National Merit Award given to him recently to the Supreme Court. The Congress commended Soyinka for the rejection of the cash prize and said it is a sign that citizens of this country will not at all times take the position of the government as faultless.

“We support his gesture of giving the money for the healing of the judiciary, which needs cleansing. The congress also supports the rejection of the national award bestowed on the prominent legal luminary, Gani Fawehinmi by the federal government. Fawehinmi had attributed his reason for the rejection to the lack-lustre fight against corruption.

TUC hailed Soyinka and Fawehinmi as icons and epitome of self discipline, principle and unwavering fight against corruption and social injustice.
The TUC believes that the federal government has not done much in its fight against corruption and electoral malpractices. The congress is of the view that the case of Ribadu is just been over flogged and unnecessarily wasting the nation’s time, energy, resources. “This body wonders if the federal government is really serious in tackling the 7-point agenda of which fight against corruption is one.

“We call on President Umar Yar’Adua to really purge the system and carry the war on corruption and other social vices to a logical conclusion. It is not enough to preach the respect for the rule of law when there are still so many lapses and flaws in the system. Corruption is still very rife in our society and should be seriously addressed to give room for credible Nigerians to participate in the governance of this country”.