Declare Emergency on Unemployment Now, Reps Tell FG

Yakubu-Dogara

Due to the  crippling effect of  unemployment in Nigeria, the House of Representatives yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a national emergency in the labour sector  of the nation’s economy.

This was sequel to a motion promoted by Rep Kingsley Chinda ,PDP, Rivers, entitled:’Urgent Need to Check the High Rate of Unemployment in the Country’, the House  urged the federal government to “urgently convoke a national summit on unemployment”.

Chinda in the motion which was passed without much debate also prayed the House to “direct the Committee on Labour and Productivity (when constituted) to request for and review the federal government’s blueprint on generation of 3,000,000 (Three Million) jobs per annum, analyse same and report back to it within four (4) weeks for further legislative action”.

He said in his debate that: “very recently, we were plunged into a situation where very many of our youths lost their lives in the process of seating for an employment examination.” He argued that if urgent steps are not taken to address the ticking time bomb called unemployment, it will be disastrous for our collective wellbeing in the country.

“If urgent steps and pragmatic steps are not taken to address this problem, the country would be at risk at a high risk of unrest and vices which could, in the long term lead to a breakdown of the social and economic order in the country to the detriment of livelihood pattern.

“That is why I am so much elated about the President’s pledge and commitment toward creating 3000,000 jobs annually which should go a long way to address the menace”, Chinda said.

The motion when put to a voice vote by the presiding officer, Yakubu Dogara it  was unanimously and passed all prayers  upheld as resolutions of the House.