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By Joel Anekwe
Unity House Foundation, a social and political body based in Rivers State has berated members of the National Assembly for suspending the implementation of the 774,000 jobs planned by the federal Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity.
The National Assembly on Wednesday announced the suspension of the Special Public Works programme under the National Directorate of Employment to cushion the effect of Covid-19 pandemic by employing at least 1, 000 Nigerians who would earn N20,000 each on a monthly basis for three months are expected to be recruited in each of the 774 local government areas, of the country.
Reacting to the action of the federal legislators, the convener of the Rivers Unity Foundation and a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Kingsley Wali, lamented their action nothing that it was beyond their mandate.
In a telephone conversation, Wali said; “It’s rather unfortunate that our National Assembly has decided to add unprecedented pettiness to their pedigree and profile. We would have thought that as law makers, they should have been able to appreciate that policy implementation is not part of their brief.”
He described as a huge embarrassment a statement by one of the senators that ‘If those jobs are given to us, it will be shared equally, or percentage of it should be given to senators, we will take it back to the people we are representing.’ He wondered whether the National Assembly members understood their brief.
Wali said; “What we find most irritating, is the demand by members of the committee, that the minister of labour should apologize to the demigods for insisting that a public hearing should be what it is – a public hearing.
“Nigerians should rise up and speak up against the actions of these serial blackmailers and the biggest threat to our democracy. We can’t get out of military dictatorship and jump straight into dictatorship, brigandage and terrorism. Nigerians must say no to parliamentary juntas.
“We are also not unaware of the fact that they those who feel they lost out in the dissolution of the National Working Committee of the ruling party have shifted their battle to the National Assembly. They want their pound of flesh at the expense of the wellbeing of the thousands of Nigerians, who are the direct beneficiaries of the post Covid-19 empowerment programme.
“Blackmailing the executive arm of government and in the process punishing the Nigerian people, over internal party politics is not only despicable, mindless and malicious, but a gross exhibition of sadism. We hope that the leadership of the National Assembly will have the presence of mind to quickly stop this act of legislative rascality and buccaneering before Nigerians resort to self-help,” he added.
President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, had approved the engagement of 774, 000 Nigerians under the National Directorate of Employment to cushion the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.
By the arrangement, 1, 000 Nigerians who would earn N20,000 each on a monthly basis for three months are expected to be recruited in each of the 774 local government areas, of the country.
The programme was expected to take off in October this year.
But the nation’s parliament on Wednesday said the programme has been suspended following the disagreement between it and the Minister of State for Employment, Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo.
The spokesperson for the Senate, Ajibola Basiru, who announced the suspension of the programme at a press conference in Abuja, said the National Assembly had summoned the minister in charge of the Ministry to appear before the federal legislature, to explain the recruitment modalities.
