The House of Representatives on Tuesday directed the Ministry of Interior to implement without further delay, the presidential directive to employ the 176 victims of the 2014 Immigration Service recruitment stampede.
The three man panel set up by the House of Representatives and headed by Majority Leader, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila directed the Ministry to liaise with the Immigration/Prisons Service Board to ensure the absorption of the victims into the Nigeria Immigration Service.
It would be recalled that 15 persons died during stampedes that ensued across the various Immigration Service recruitment centers across the country in March 2014 while 131 sustained various degrees of injuries.
Following the national outcry that arose from the tragedy, former President Goodluck Jonathan had directed that three members of the family of each dead victim should be given employment in the Service while the injured among the job seekers should be given automatic employment.
However, 18 months after the incident, the presidential directive was yet to be complied with, prompting the victims to protest at the National Assembly last Thursday.
The House Panel which also had Hon Leo Ogor and Hon Aminu Shagari as members expressed shock at the words of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Abubakar Magaji that the presidential directive was not backed by a letter of approval.
The panel was dismayed that a Federal government agency would disobey a presidential directive on the flimsy excuse of waiting for another approval.
The panel therefore directed the Permanent Secretary to in his own interest, " give effect to the presidential directive by employing the 176 beneficiaries immediately.
“Work out their salaries and include everything in your 2016 budget and forward to the House.
“We will withhold your 2016 budget if it comes without a provision for these 176 stampede victims. You are advised.”
Hon Leo Ogor lamented that rather than being ashamed and sorry for the national embarrassment that was the 2014 Immigration Service recruitment, the Ministry of Interior was relying on unnecessary technicalities to sit on a presidential directive.
He said ;
“All you are saying are technicalities; what happened that day was an embarrassment to the whole nation. This was an issue of an abnormal situation. There was a presidential directive,which was not obeyed."
The Permanent Secretary had argued that there was no official letter from the former president to back up the directive. His words ;
“The letters issued were ceremonial, symbolic, but I asked the board to quickly follow it with a letter to Mr. President to formalise the appointments so that salaries can be processed for these people.”
However, the panel disagreed with him. Hon Gbajabiamila speaking for his colleagues said;
“This thing is taking a whole new dimension. Don’t allow people go away with the impression that the original immigration recruitment was a scam.
“Where were you supposed to get salaries in the first place to pay those to be recruited?
“Why are you now saying that there should have been another presidential approval before you could process salaries for the 176victims?”
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