Motion sponsor, Rep. Waive noted that for several years, there has not been any employment in the Civil Service of the Federation leading to shortage of manpower especially in the junior and middle-level cadres.
The House of Representatives has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lift the embargo placed on employment in Federal Ministries, Agencies, and Parastatals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recession that hit the economy due to drop in price of crude oil by the immediate past administration.
The call was contained in a motion, sponsored on Wednesday, by Rep. Francis Ejiroghene Waive (APC, Delta).
In his debate, Waive recalled that the 9th assembly had passed a similar resolution seeking to lift the embargo following media reports that the embargo had been lifted with no concrete evidence to prove that.
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He noted that for several years, there has not been any employment in the Civil Service of the Federation, leading to a shortage of manpower especially in the junior and middle-level cadres as officers are promoted and some retire and others die.
He also noted that “some Ministry Departments and Agency DAs have resorted to engaging casual staff who are paid from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and other sources, while it is sad that these casual staffs are non-pensionable, the act of spending government money without appropriation by the legislature for whatever purpose is illegal.”
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The lawmaker expressed concerned that the withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products has increased the hardship of jobless Nigerian youths and appreciates the measures planned by the President to alleviate the suffering of the masses, adding that “lifting of the embargo on employment and going ahead to employ young qualified Nigerians should be a part of Mr. President’s rescue measures as some of the savings from the removal of the subsidy could be used in this direction.”
The motion was consequently referred to the Committees on Public Service Matters, Labour, and Employment (when constituted), to ensure compliance and report back within four(4) weeks for further legislative action.
