Rejects APC’s proposed N5,000 for unemployed
By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
As part of measures towards ensuring accountability in government, the Senate yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the financial activities of the Subsidy Re-investment and
Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), and other poverty alleviation programmes under the Gooduck Jonathan administration .
This was just as the upper chamber rejected the proposed N5,000 monthly stipends promised the unemployed Nigerians by the All Progressives Congress(APC)-led government during its electioneering campaign.
The resolution to probe SURE-P and related bodies was reached amidst stiff opposition from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party( PDP), following an additional prayer moved by Senator Babajide Christopher Omoworare to Senator Bassey Albert Akpan-sponsored motion on the ‘Urgent Need to Curb the Soaring Rate of Unemployment in Nigeria’.
Sequel to the adoption of the motion, Senator Philip Aduda raised an additional prayer, urging the Federal Government to fulfil one of its numerous campaign promises, to pay a monthly stipend of N5,000 to the unemployed youths in Nigeria.
He said, “the Federal Government should immediately commence the payment of the N5,000 monthly stipend it promised during the pre-election campaign.”
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, seconded the additional prayer.
Omoworare, coming under Order 53(6) of the Senate rule, however opposed the additional prayer, one which attracted some rumblings from the APC senators as well as their PDP counterparts.
The Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, however, intervened, by subjecting the additional prayer to a voice vote. Though, the ayes outnumbered those against the prayer, the Senate President nonetheless ruled in their favour, thereby stopping the APC-led government from honouring its campaign promise to Nigerians.
Omoworare said, “I want to move that the immediate past government be made to account for every penny spent on SURE-P and other poverty alleviation programmes, and I so move, Mr. President”.
Leading the debate on the motion, Akpan observed that the latest figures of Nigeria’s soaring unemployment situation by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC), had increased to 8.2 percent in the second quarter of 2015 from 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 2015 and 6.4 percent in the last quarter of 2014.
“The latest statistics as released by the Bureau reveals that economically active population, or working age comprising Nigerians within the age range of 15 to 64, is now 103.5 million, increasing
from 102.8 million in the last quarter of 2015, while the unemployed labour force now stands at 74 million Nigerian youths. This is truly a calamity,” he noted.
He expressed concern that about N2 billion was expended as intervention funds by the Federal Government to boost the productivity of various sectors of the economy in the last five years without any commensurate impact on employment generation.
“With a projected population growth of 200 million by 2020, we project an unemployed population of about 100 million Nigerians or more. Where lies the economic future of this country?
“If the unemployed youths of this country are effectively engaged in gainful employment, terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery and other socio-economic and cultural vices will be drastically reduced as the saying goes, ‘an idle mind is the devil’s workshop’,” he said.
In their various contributions, the senators gave support to the motion, leading to the passage of the prayers including the additional one by Omoworare.
In another development, the Senate paid tributes to its deceased former members, the late Emir of Borgu in Niger State, Senator Haliru, a second republic lawmaker and Dantoro and Gyang Pwajok, (Plateau State), who served in the Seventh Senate. The duos died last week.
