774,000 Jobs: Keyamo Displayed Rascality — Ubah

Ifeanyi Ubah
Ifeanyi Ubah

Ifeanyi Ubah, senator representing Anambra south, has accused Festus Keyamo, minister of state for labour and employment, of displaying “rascality” when he appeared before a joint committee of the national assembly.

Keyamo on Tuesday was walked out of the national assembly following altercation  he had with some senators and house of representatives members while responding to some questions about the recruitment of 774,000 citizens.

Keyamo was accused by lawmakers of hijacking the programme which is being implemented by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) under a special works programme.

However, Keyamo in a counterattack, accused the lawmakers of trying to hijack the programme instead.

Ubah while speaking with reporters at the national assembly on Wednesday, said the lawmakers have a right to interrogate the way the beneficiaries would be engaged.

“I can speak as a member of the senate committee on media that it is not a good thing for an appointee of the executive [to behave that way]. The duty of the legislature is to checkmate and at the same time to have an oversight of the executive,” Ubah said.

“As a representative of my constituents, it is something worthwhile for us to request how the distribution of employment to Nigerians is handled by an appointee of the executive who is not even the substantive minister.

“I felt it is a very bad display of rascality. I don’t know what a senator will be doing with a job of N20,000 and N30,000, if not to make sure that it is given to people in the constituency. If those jobs are given to us it will be shared equally or percentage of it should be given to senators, we will take it back to the people we are representing.

Read Also: 774,000 Jobs: Lawmakers Walk Keyamo Out Of National Assembly

“But giving it to people who will go and mortgage it and sell it or hand it to an agency that will market it is totally unacceptable to the Nigerian senate.

“I felt so bad that I was not there yesterday and I’m speaking as a senator representing Anambra south. Such rascality should be highly condemned by Nigerians.”

The lawmakers directed a suspension of the programme after the minister left the national assembly but Keyamo said they lacked the powers to take such action — while he directed the committees he inaugurated on Monday to carry on with the programme.