Seventy nine members of the House of Representatives yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a state of emergency on unemployment.
The nation’s unemployment rate is 7.5 percent this year, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics.
House Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila who sponsored a motion entitled: “Call for a State of Emergency and Legislative Intervention in the Unemployment Ccrisis,” alongside 78 of his colleagues, noted that unemployment rates had reached crisis level.
Gbajabiamila stated it was time the House took proactive measures towards assisting the Federal Government by allocating a higher percentage of the annual budget to capital expenditure. He argued that execution of projects would lead to creation of jobs.
The House leader identified what he described as a nexus between crime, poverty, corruption and unemployment. This is even as he called for an amendment of the Immigration Act to provide stiffer penalties for the violation of relevant sections of the act with a view to protecting Nigerian workers.
House Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, while insisting that the opposition was not against the motion, due to the challenge posed by the high rate of unemployment, however, observed that Buhari made a campaign promise to create three million jobs a year.
Ogor asked if the motion was an acceptance to the reality that the president will not be able to fulfil his promise, hence the need for a subtle reminder.