Senate rejects N5,000 unemployed youth pay
The upper House also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to without any further delay commence probe of the nation’s SURE-P programme funds undr the immediate past administration, even as it unveiled 65 standing committees.
In regards to the issue of unemployed allowance, there was a rowdy session in the Senate yesterday as the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP senators disagreed on an additional prayers to a motion titled “Urgent need to curb the soaring rate of unemployment in Nigeria”.
Majority of the senators across party lines had supported the motion, sponsored by Senator Bassey Albert Akpan (PDP Akwa Ibom North-East), describing the unemployment rate in the country as a time bomb waiting to explode.
Trouble started when the Minority Whip Senator Philip Aduda (PDP FCT) told a stunned Senate that it should also urged the APC-led federal government to immediately commence the payment of N5, 000 stipends to unemployed youths in the country as additional resolutions of the upper legislative chamber to the motion.
This drew the ire of the APC senators, many of who at that point quickly opposed it even as the Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, tried in futility to second the additional prayer.
After the PDP senators’ efforts, Senator Babajide Omoworare (APC Osun East) raised a point of order, cited Order 53 (6) of the Senate Standing Rules, that no senator shall raised any matter on the floor of the Senate after it must have been resolved.
The Order, which deals with Rules of Debate, reads: “It shall be out of order to attempt to reconsider any specific question upon which tar Senate had come to a conclusion during current session except upon a substantive motion for rescission”.
While Omoworare’s party members in the Senate were hailing him over the point of order raised, the opposition members shouted “No! No! No!”
Not satisfied with the situation on ground, Senator Omoworare, still with the support of APC senators, moved another additional prayer that “the immediate past federal government should be made to account for all the monies spent on SURE-P and other poverty alleviation programmes”.
The senate had earlier condemned the high rate of unemployment in the country, considering the huge bailout intervention funds expended by the government in various sectors over the years to boost domestic production capacity.
It, however, directed its relevant committees to investigate effective release, utilisation and performance of the various intervention funds to the various sectors of the economy by relevant government agencies.
The senate had earlier condemned the high rate of unemployment in the country, considering the huge bailout intervention funds expended by the government in various sectors over the years to boost domestic production capacity.
It, however, directed its relevant committees to investigate effective release, utilisation and performance of the various intervention funds to the various sectors of the economy by relevant government agencies.
The senate called on the federal government’s sub-national governments to intensify their efforts on employment generation activities in line with their various campaign promises.
It also asked the government to take bold steps to boost entrepreneurial development and employment capabilities of the nation’s economy, adding that it should integrate entrepreneurship, savings and investment culture and education into the educational curriculum at appropriate levels.
Senator Akpan, while presenting the motion, noted that the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS has revealed that the unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 8.2 percent in the second quarter of 2015 from 7.5 percent in the first quarter and from 64 percent in the last quarter of 2014.
He expressed worry that “the latest statistics reveals that economically active population Kris working age comprising Nigerians within the age range of 15 to 64, is now 103.5million increasing from 102.8million in the first quarter of 2015 while unemployed labour force now stands at 74million Nigerian youths”.
However, a motion calling for the probe of the utilisation of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) funds by the immediate past administration was adopted by the senators.
Mover of the motion, Sen. Babajide Omoworare, prayed that every naira spent by the past government on SURE-P and other poverty alleviation programmes should be accounted for.
When the President of the Senate put the question, it was supported with a loud “aye’’ from the APC wing of the chamber, with no dissenting voice from the PDP side..
Meanwhile, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, yesterday unveiled sixty five standing committees for the 8th Senate, where he allotted forty one chairmanship positions to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has twenty four chairmanship position.
The names of Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Senate Standing Committees were yesterday read out by the Senate President, even as the Senate President yesterday adjourned the Senate plenary till Tuesday next week, for the continuation of his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribuna which holds today.
APC Senators who clinched chairmanship positions of some of the choice committees are- Danjuma Goje (Appropriation), Abdullahi Adamu (Agriculture), George Akume (Army), Tayo Alasoadura (Petroleum Upstream) and Kabiru Gaya (Works).
Others are Dino Melaye (FCT), Ahmad Lawan (Defence), Monsurat Sunmonu ( Foreign Affairs), Lanre Tejuoso ( Health), Barnabas Gemade ( Housing), Aliyu Wammako (Basic Education and Secondary), Ahmad Sani Yerima (Marine Transport), etc.
The PDP senators made chairmen of juicy committees out of the 24 given to them are Hope Uzodinma (Aviation), Uche Ekwunife (Petroleum Downstream), John Enoh (Finance), Bassey Albert Akpan (Gas), George Sekibo (Interior) and Sam Egu (Industry).
Others are Eyinnaya Abaribe (Information and National Orientation), Samuel Faseyi (Airforce), Gilbert Nnaji (Communication), James Manager (Power), Ben Bruce (Privatisation), Godfrey Utazi (Anti- Corruption and Financial Crimes), Peter Nwaboshi (Niger Delta) etc.
On zonal basis, the North Central Geo political zone, where the Senate President comes from, has the highest number of chairmanship positions of the committees which is twelve, while North East and North West , have 11 each.
In the South, South west has the highest number of eleven chairmanship positions, while both the South- South and South East, have ten each.
Although the forty four senators across party lines who were not made Chairmen of any of the committees got compensated in one way or the other as Vice Chairmen of the sixty five committees, but in all, while only nineteen out of sixty APC senators were unlucky to be given chairmanship position of any of the committees, twenty five out of the 49 PDP senators were left out of the chairmanship positions.
However the Senate President, while announcing the composition of the Committees, admonished the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen that it must not be business as usual as far as oversight functions of the committees are concerned.
He urged them to cooperate with themselves and other members of the committee when constituted to work as a team.
Meanwhile, the Senate will not have plenary session today, even though Saraki did not give any reason for Senate’s adjournment to Tuesday next week, there indications that it has to do with his CCT trial.
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