The Senate on Wednesday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity to quickly inaugurate a committee to review the 30 years’ age limit for job seekers.
Specifically, the Senate said if the current age limit is cancelled, it will allow competent applicants to be employed by the ministries, departments and agencies of government.
The call by the Senate followed a resolution on the consideration of a motion brought by Ibrahim Gobir (APC, Sokoto East).
Gobir noted that recruitment requirement of MDAs and other private bodies which sets age barriers “inadvertently excludes and marginalises skillful and competent prospective applicants from participating in such exercises”.
“Due to the high unemployment rate in the country, many graduates spend up to 10 years seeking employment and this puts them in a disadvantaged position by no fault of theirs.
“Many individuals resort to falsifying their age all in a bid to fall within the required age limit for them to be gainfully employed,” Gobir said.
He warned that “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 remarks, Senate President Ahmad Lawan bemoaned the discrimination against job seekers as a result of the barrier imposed by the prescribed age limit.
“It is not through a fault of theirs that people are discriminated against. They’ll tell you only 30 years limit, meanwhile someone graduated 10 years ago,” Lawan said. “This is a very good motion urging the Ministry of Labour and Productivity to swing into action immediately.”
