Feelings of outrage appear to be spreading in the Senate over alleged job racketeering by its leaders.
While some senators have been accused of benefitting from the racketeering, the leaders of the Senate have been fingered for getting about 100 slots, which they allegedly shared among themselves.
Some government agencies, it was gathered, gave the job slots to some members of the Senate.
However, the chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character Commission, Danjuma La’ah, has vowed to expose the beneficiaries of the alleged job racketeering wherever they might exist.
The Committee on Federal Character is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that employment and job recruitment strictly complied with the federal character principle as enshrined in the constitution.
On threats by agencies that the illegal recruitment probe would not achieve anything because they allegedly carried the leadership of the National Assembly along, Sen. La’ah said although he was not aware that job slots had been given to the leadership, he would take it upon himself to probe deeply into the agencies’ claims and carry out an extensive investigation.
He said: “I am not aware that any agency gave out employment slot to the Senate. The leadership has not told us that they received any slot.
“So, who did they give? As the chairman of this committee, who is also representing Kaduna South, I was not in any way aware that we have been given any employment slot, so we are going ahead with our probe.
“I have taken it upon myself that I will probe deeply into the agencies’ claims and carry out an extensive investigation. We are going to expose all those that are tarnishing the image of the Federal Government.
“We are aware that some of the agencies are selling the employment slots at their own disposal.
“They are commercialising employment, selling a single slot for as much as N1.5 million when we have children who have graduated from tertiary institutions who could not get any job for many years.
“It is not their fault. It is because of the situation of this country. Some people are just taking Nigerians for granted.
“Our children are suffering, running from one end to another, looking for jobs. Some have become bandits and terrorists because the jobs meant for them have been cornered by some greedy people.
“The young educated Nigerians are joining Boko Haram because of lack of jobs.
“When thousands of qualified graduates are looking for jobs, some people will just be parking government jobs for their family members, simply because they are in position of authority.
“They will even go ahead to give the jobs to those who graduated with fake results.
“I don’t care (whether they gave out slots to leadership). Is it the leadership that will give them the backing? The leadership knows that I am capable of doing my job that is why they gave me that responsibility.
“I am using my sense to fish out the bad elements. It is not a leadership directive. There are rules and regulations guiding us as a committee.
“The affected agencies should either present themselves for clearance because I will not take it easy. Our people have suffered in bondage for long.”
On when the agency would appear before the committee to defend themselves, Senator La’ah said: “Never mind, they must appear soon.”
Some senators, who reacted to this development, have expressed their displeasure and have started putting pressure on the Committee on Federal Character to fast track the investigation to enable the Senate sanction any of its members alleged to have benefitted from the racketeering of jobs by government agencies.
One of the senators has lamented that the fact that the leadership had allegedly collected 100 job slots and shared it among themselves showed that Nigerians can’t win the war against lopsidedness that we talk about in the country.
Another senator said: “The secret employments are already tearing the Senate apart with the allegations that the Senate leadership was offered 100 slots from a particular agency of the Federal Government and shared the slots among themselves.
“An average senator who is not a member of the executive cannot even boast of being given a single job from any federal agency to his or her constituents.
“We had information that one of the leaders shared 26 slots to people in his senatorial district. Problems are really brewing up in the Senate because the leadership has allegedly taken jobs meant for the entire Nigerians. Does it mean that you must know a senator in Nigeria before you get a job?
“Nothing is being done by merit and due process again. How will you get the best brains to do the jobs? The implication of this is that many people are being offered employment without undergoing any interview to test their capability.
“They just give them appointment letter because they know the leadership of the Senate. How can a single senatorial district get 26 slots when others have nothing?
“My expectation is that the slots should go round. I see no reason why each senator should not have a slot each.”
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