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Many senators refused to openly identify with the #EndSARS protest for fear of being victimised, Smart Adeyemi said.
At a meeting with labour leaders in the National Assembly, yesterday, Adeyemi, former president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), lamented that most labour leaders who had gone into active politics and became elected had suffered serious attack from their colleagues in active unionism.
The meeting was originally convened to hear the views of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on some Bills to amend some laws governing the aviation industry.
Before responding to the issues, Adeyemi, decried the misconception that all those holding elective positions in the country were stealing public funds.
“Let me take your into the recent #EndSARS, unknown to those in the civil society, there are some of the issues that you raised that some of us believe in them but we cannot come out to join because joining them you will become a victim just because we have been here. It is quite a funny thing to somebody like me.
“I want you to please take this home, especially to the civil society not to give a blanket condemnation for people in politics. Some of us are even more refined and equally more God-fearing and we have conscience than some of them who claim today they are in the struggle…
“Please there are many people who believe in good governance in the National Assembly. There are many people who are passionate but you we are legislators, we are not executive. So, when laws are put in place, it is not for us to implement. Ours is to call the attention of the executive to where there are shortcomings for good governance.”
