House Urges Tinubu to Lift Embargo on Employment in MDAs
•Urges FERMA, NDDC, others to reconstruct Mgbe/Umuezeala/Ogboko bypass
Juliet Akoje in Abuja
The House of Representatives has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lift the embargo on employment in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government.
The House also urged the Federal Civil Service Commission and other relevant bodies to immediately act upon the President’s directive in this regard.
These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion calling on the President to Lift the Embargo on Employment moved by Hon. Francis Ejiroghene Waive, during plenary yesterday.
He recalled that the ninth House of Representatives had passed a resolution calling on the then president to lift the embargo on employment and that there are reports in social media that the embargo had been lifted but there is no evidence of any employment taking place whatsoever.
The lawmaker expressed worries that for several years there had not been any employment in the Civil Service of the Federation, thereby creating a shortage of manpower, especially in the junior and middle-level cadre as officers are promoted and some retire and others die.
He further stated that some MDAs, sad that these casual staffs are non-pensionable, the act of spending government money without appropriation by the legislature for whatever purpose is illegal.
“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.
“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,” he added
The House however Mandated the Committees on Public Service Matters, Labour and Employment (when constituted) to ensure compliance and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has urged the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Ecological Fund Office to embark on thorough repair, reconstruction and remedial works on the Mgbe/Umuezeala/Ogboko Bypass in Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State.
The House also urged FERMA, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Ecological Fund Office to carry out an extensive repair on the Akokwa Umuchima Mgbe-Orlu Federal Road which connects Ideato to other parts of Imo State.
The lawmakers further urged the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other relief agencies to immediately provide relief materials to the displaced people of Ideato South Local Government area and its environs.
These resolutions followed the adoption of a motion on the ‘Need to Rehabilitate the Collapsed Akokwa—Umuchima—Mgbe—Orlu Federal Road and the Mgbe-Umuezeala—Ogboko Bridge in Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State moved by Hon. Ikeagwuonu Onyinye Ugochinyere at plenary.
“The road from Enugu to Arondizuogu is now a death trap due to gully erosion, causing residents to flee the area, fearing insecurity and the destruction of houses and landed properties and he ravaging gully erosion brought down the bypass, resulting to loss of lives and properties this emphasize the call for urgent need to rehabilitate the collapsed Akokwa Umuchima Mgbe Orlu Federal Road and the Mgbe UmuezealaOgboko Bridge in Ideato South Local Government Areas to save lives and properties.
“If urgent steps for reconstruction of the road are taken to salvage the situation, more devastating damage would be done to the lives, livelihood and properties,” he said.
