774,000 Jobs: Reps Minority Caucus Rejects 30 Slots
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, said in a statement that they were rejecting the 30 slots allotted to them.
It said, as true representatives of the people, it was unfair to allocate just 30 slots out of the 1,000 available 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 allotment.
He alleged that the criteria favoured certain interests in the All Progressive Congress (APC) to the detriment and disadvantages of majority of Nigerians.
He maintained that the 774,000 jobs were meant for the masses, adding that they look-up to the 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 project their interest at all times. As such lawmakers ought to have been carried along on the allottment.
“Moreover, the questions are, what criteria are being used for allotments? Given the 30 persons out of the 1,000 per local government area allotted to federal lawmakers, what happens to the remaining 970? What answers so 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 review of the implementation process to ensure the targeted citizens benefit from the programme as intended.
