774, 000 jobs: Reps Minority Caucus rejects 30 slots
Tony Akowe, Abuja
House of Representatives Minority Caucus has said that allocating only 30 slot per local government to each member of the House from the 1,000 job per local government was unfair and unacceptable to lawmakers and Nigerians.
Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta), said in a statement they were rejecting the 30 job slots allotted to them.
It said as true representatives of the people, it was unfair to allocate just 30 slot out of available 1,000 to members from the local governments within their constituencies.
Elumelu said the caucus was demanding more transparency and review of the criteria being used for the allotment.
He alleged the criteria favoured certain interests in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the detriment and disadvantage of majority of Nigerians.
He maintained the 774,000 jobs were meant for the masses, adding they look up to lawmakers as major channels for social and economic empowerment, a situation, which makes the 30 slots out of the 1,000 per local government grossly inadequate.
According to him: “The 30 persons allotment per local government for lawmakers is grossly unfair, inadequate and unacceptable to Nigerians.
“As the representatives of the people, we are closer to them and they directly interact with us, irrespective of religion, class and political affiliations.
“All Nigerians living in our constituencies are our constituents, irrespective of political leanings. We have a responsibility to protect their interests at all times. As such lawmakers ought to have been carried along on the allotment.
“Moreover, the questions are, what criteria is being used in the job allotments? Given the 30 persons out of the 1000 per local government area allotted to federal lawmakers, what happens to the remaining 970? What answers do we give Nigerians?
“How do we ensure that the program benefited Nigerians and not enmeshed in allegations of sharp practices as witnessed in the COVID-19 palliative distribution?”
He asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately order a review of the implementation process to ensure the targeted citizens benefit from the programme as intended.
– The Nation
