FG lied; ‘high scale secret employments’ ongoing in civil service — Senate

Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment

THE Senate, Wednesday, raised the alarm over what it termed “high scale secret employments” going on the civil service in spite of claims by the Federal Government that it had placed embargo on job placement.

The Senate, while lamenting the situation, challenged the Federal Government to come out with evidence on job embargo.

The lawmakers insisted that that top civil servants engaged in secret job placements, just as it has demanded that the Federal Government step up process of employment to engage millions of Nigerians.

Speaking in Abuja while submitting the report of the Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs on the 2022 Budget to the Appropriations Committee, Chairman of Federal Character Committee, Senator Danjuma La’ah(PDP-Kaduna South) said that government should, as a matter of urgency, ensure recruitment of eligible Nigerians into public service.

Senator La’ah said “many people are being secretly employed but those in charge are claiming that there is embargo on employment.

I don’t know where they got that from. We have been asking them. There is no embargo anywhere.

“Some of the officials of government are so myopic that they decide to take advantage of the situation.

I  have been challenging those who are engaging in secret recruitments, claiming there is embargo, to show us where they got the information from.

“This is the time for them to increase their personnel cost and make provision for employment.

People are retiring voluntarily but we don’t know how they are being replaced. We must know the particular number of people they want to employ.

“We discovered that young Nigerians who graduated from higher institutions some 15 years ago had yet to gain employment.

The development had aggravated insecurity all over the places including insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities.

“Some people are taking advantage of the situation (embargo on employment) but our committee is desirous of doing the right thing.

“We are determined that there should be jobs for the graduates that we have in this country, no matter what it takes.

“Our committee has been going to ministries, departments and agencies of government that they must start recruitment instead of doing secret replacements.

“We had even asked them to increase their personnel cost in their budgets so that they could employ people.”

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