NLC Backs EFCC, Demands Stronger Protection for Whistleblowers

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has pledged renewed support for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its fight against corruption, while calling for stronger mechanisms to protect workers and other Nigerians who expose corrupt practices.

NLC General Secretary and General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation-Africa (ITUC-Africa), Akhator Joel Odigie, made the commitment on Thursday, August 13, 2026, when he led an NLC delegation on a courtesy visit to the EFCC Executive Chairman in Abuja.

Odigie said the visit formed part of a broader ITUC-Africa campaign against illicit financial flows across Africa, which is currently being implemented in Zambia and Kenya and is expected to extend to Uganda, Ghana and Senegal.

“We are with you in this fight. Let us fight together,” Odigie told the Commission.

He stressed that corruption has a direct impact on workers’ welfare, noting that it weakens governments’ ability to provide social protection, decent livelihoods and living wages for citizens.

The NLC General Secretary also called for stronger and safer whistleblowing mechanisms to protect workers who report corruption and expose financial wrongdoing.

He further advocated possible amendments to the EFCC’s enabling law to strengthen the Commission’s investigative and prosecutorial powers in the fight against economic and financial crimes.

Responding on behalf of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede, the Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, said the EFCC had moved beyond what he described as “lamentation” to active enforcement.

According to Uwujaren, the Commission was now focused on investigations, arrests and recovery of proceeds linked to financial crimes.

He, however, acknowledged that the EFCC could not win the anti-corruption battle alone, urging the NLC and organised labour to help revive public participation in whistleblowing.

Uwujaren said workers were among the greatest victims of corruption, stressing the need for greater labour-led awareness of the effects of corrupt practices on livelihoods and the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.

He urged the labour movement to help educate workers on the importance of reporting corruption and supporting efforts to prevent illicit financial flows.

The engagement also focused on the need for stronger collaboration between the EFCC and organised labour in addressing corruption and financial crimes affecting the Nigerian economy.

Both organisations agreed to sustain their engagement, with the NLC pledging to mobilise workers more broadly in support of the EFCC’s anti-corruption mandate.

The meeting underscored the growing emphasis on collaboration between anti-corruption agencies and organised labour as part of efforts to protect workers, strengthen accountability and combat illicit financial flows in Nigeria and across Africa.