Senate Wants Age Limit For Job Seekers Removed
The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to direct the Ministry of Labour and Employment to set up a committee to review the age limit for job seekers in the country, to allow competent applicants to be employed by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.
The resolution was sequel to a motion by Senator Ibrahim Gobir where he noted that recruitment requirements of MDAs and other private bodies, which set age barriers, “inadvertently excludes and marginalizes skillfull and competent prospective applicants from participating in such exercises.”
He said, “Many individuals resort to falsifying their age all in a bid to fall within the required age limit for them to be gainfully employed.
“This development, where a person believes he is unemployable can lead them to embracing criminal activities and further increase the growing crime rate and insecurity in the country. “
In his contribution, Senator Bala Na’Allah drew the attention of the upper chamber to the Federal Government’s embargo on employment over 13years ago.
He said the embargo period must be factored into the review of age limits by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity for prospective job seekers in the country.
“I think in the review, that has to be taken into account, and therefore, the age limit can now be raised in addition to the established age. That should be the legal verdict for the review, ” Na’Allah said.
In his remark, the senate president, Ahmad Lawan, urged the Labour ministry to address the issue promptly.
“It is not through a fault of theirs that people are discriminated against. They’ll tell you only 30 years limit, meanwhile someone graduated ten years ago.
“This is a very good motion urging the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to swing into action immediately. “
