By Abubakar Yunusa.
Barely one week ago, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, exchanged words with National Assembly members over the federal government’s 774,000 public works recruitment exercise.
The government had earlier unveiled a scheme, “Special Public Works Programme” to employ 1,000 persons from each of the 774 local government areas to reduce the growing unemployment statistics and to cushion the effect of unemployment of many Nigerians.
The National Assembly joint Committees on Labour had invited Keyamo to brief them on the recruitment exercise. But, the minister told the lawmakers that a 20-man selection committee had been constituted in each state of the federation.
Recalled that, trouble started when the lawmakers accused the minister of lopsidedness in the composition of the committee’s membership.
The lawmakers called for an executive session to resolve the difference, but Keyamo disagreed, insisting that everything must happen on camera.
The lawmakers accused Keyamo of trying to dictate their proceedings to them and demanded an apology, but he said he had not said anything that warranted an apology.
Why Keyamo should apologize for what he knows nothing about? In order to run transparent Government, everything should happen on camera and not under the camera.
It is obvious that minister have its boundary of duties and obligations jurisprudentially, likewise the lawmakers. For lawmakers to completely incapacitate a minister as a puppet and dictate what, when, where and how a minister should perform his constitutional roles is a big slap and affront on Nigeria democracy.
There has been prevalent argument that lawmakers are the sole problem of this country and not the executive. It is crystal clear that 774,000 jobs recruitment has exposed the long hidden skeleton at the red and green chambers.
Why are Nigerian lawmakers so much interested in this 774,000 jobs recruitment? Does that mean they want to use it for constituency compensation or family compensation? Must all the jobs in the country selfishly divided among them at the detriment of the commoners? This issue call for a reflection.
Few weeks back, Sahara Reporters unveiled the renew interest of the National Assembly in Npower enrollment, consequently, it was alleged that the minister of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Hajiya Umar Sadiya Farook, has carved out 50,000 slots to be divided among lawmakers.
The senate president and First Inland Revenue job saga is still fresh in our mind, to mention but a few. What is indeed the colour of their problem? Why is parochialism used to milked and rob competent and brilliant Nigerians at every slight opportunity at making jobs available for them?
For a democratic country to run effectively and untainted, there must be transparency in all government activities. Everything must be reported as it unfolds, trying to deny the media access to any proceeding is a demonstration of shaddy deals and secrecy and it is antagonistic to the doctrine of transparency that drive ideal democracy.
Now, it is indisputable and clear to patriotic and well meaning Nigerians that lawmakers are the problems of this country.
I urged Mr. President to remain firm and allow his minister, Keyamo to do his job as hitherto instructed by him. If there should be need for any merited apology, lawmakers should apologize to Keyamo and Nigerians for their apparent display of greed, callousness and carefree attitude to the growth of army of unemployed youths in Nigeria.
