Following the recent discovery of 23,000 ghost workers on its payroll by the Federal Government, the House of Representatives yesterday has called on the Federal Government to replace such ghost workers with unemployed youths.
The call was as a result of a motion on a matter of urgent importance sponsored by Dickson Tarkighir (Benue -APC). The house presided over by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, resolved that the Federal Government should do everything within its capacity to reduce the teeming population of the unemployed youths in the country.
In the sponsored motion, Tarkighir noted that since the government could afford to have paid the ghost workers on its payroll, upon discovery, it could afford to replace them with unemployed youths.
He said: “I am not in doubt of the many curriculum vitae my colleagues continue to collect from schooled but jobless constituents.
“This House has the identity of one commitment which is to ease the plight of Nigerians and of our youths especially.
“We will therefore, be living the essence of our stewardship if we once again show them that we care about their welfare and progress.
“There is no task more honoring than that, when ghost workers were discovered, we spoke out vehemently asking that Nigerian youth, eager and willing to work are made to replace ghost workers.”
Giving a mathematical breakdown to back his motion, he explained; “This is about 14 persons per Local Government (LG). From Kano state that has 44 LG, its about 27 applicants off the unemployed cadre. From each of the 23 LG of Benue state, its about 36 applicants off the street.
“Do the maths per state, Federal constituency and you will have a grasp of what effect the decision of this House on this day shall have on the nation,’’ he said.