The Senate has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity to set up a committee to review the age requirements for job seekers in Nigeria to enable the employment of competent applicants.
The demand followed the consideration of a motion by Senator Ibrahim Gobir (APC, Sokoto) on Wednesday.
Gobir made reference to Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing Rules, and noted that requirement of Ministries Departments and Agencies and other private bodies, which set age barriers, “inadvertently excludes and marginalizes skillful and competent prospective applicants from participating in such exercises.”
“Many individuals resort to falsifying their age all in a bid to fall within the required age limit for them to be gainfully employed.
“This development, where a person believes he is unemployable, can lead them to embracing criminal activities and further increase the growing crime rate and insecurity in the country,” He said.
Ahmad Lawan, the Senate President, also condemned the discrimination against job applicants due to the barrier imposed by a certain prescribed age limit as prerequisite for employment.
He said, “It is not through a fault of theirs that people are discriminated against. They’ll tell you only 30 years’ limit; meanwhile, someone graduated 10 years ago.”
In support of the motion, the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Na’Allah (Kebbi) drew the attention of the upper chamber to the Federal Government’s official ban on employment over 13 years ago.
He added that the embargo period must be encompassed into the review of age limits by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity for prospective job seekers in the country.
Na’Allah said, “I think in the review, that has to be taken into account, and therefore, the age limit can now be raised in addition to the established age. That should be the legal verdict for the review”.
