Kunle ADELABU
The Ikorodu Federal Constituency representative at the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly, Hon. Babajimi Adegoke Benson, has stated his reason for supporting the Bill on the removal of age barrier for applicants seeking employment into the Federal Government service.
He revealed this when he appeared as a guest on THE IMPACT WhatsApp platform recently to discuss the Bill.
On July 4, 2018, the young lawmaker had moved the motion for the “Urgent Need To Review The Age Barrier In Vacancies Announced By Nigeria Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Prison Service, Fire Service, Standard Organization of Nigeria and Other Federal Government Agencies”.
This motion culminated into a Bill sponsored by Hon. Sergius Ogun and Hon. Benson. The bill was presented on Wednesday, November 7, 2018.
Highlighting the objectives of the Bill during the interactive session on THE IMPACT WhatsApp platform, the lawmaker stated that:
“The Bill provides a regulatory framework that eradicates age discrimination against job seekers in federal government owned agencies and organizations; ensures that the fundamental human rights of citizens as contained in the Constitution are not violated; ensures that no one is discriminated against on account of his/her age or the circumstances surrounding his/her birth.
“Also, it allows vibrant Nigerian youths to gain employment into the institutions and agencies of the Federal government of Nigeria and reduces as much as possible the rate of unemployment in the country.”
He added that the Bill is necessary to guide against the restriction of those that secured admission into University late in life from securing employment into Federal Service.
“Some youths graduated from the university late in life and so may be deprived of working in the civil service/MDAs based on a self-imposed regulation.
“When the opportunities arise in MDAs, they limit the applicants’ age barrier to under 25. Ironically, you are allowed to serve as a youth Corper till the age of 30”, he stated.
He also stated that the Bill does not clash with any existing law.
“The Bill does not in any way clash with any extant law as it protects the fundamental human rights of individuals. The protection of the fundamental human rights of citizens of Nigeria as enshrined in Chapter IV of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was designed to bring about fairness and elicit a sense of belonging amongst the citizenry.
“Also, Section 17(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), specifically stated that the country’s policies shall be directed towards ensuring that “ all citizens, without discrimination of any group whatsoever, shall have the opportunity for securing adequate means of livelihood as well as adequate opportunity to secure suitable employment”, the lawyer turned lawmaker stated.
When asked if there is going to be any restriction on the Bill to protect government agencies whose operations require strength and fitness like the security agencies and others, the lawmaker stated that such situation would be assessed based on the needs.
“Exceptions can be made for military/paramilitary agencies, but this must come on a need assessment basis.”
While clarifying further that the provisions of the proposed Bill have not been provided in the constitution and justifying the need for the bill, Hon. Benson stated that:
“No sanction is imposed if you disobey section 42”, he stated while observing one of the shortcomings in the constitution.
“Also, we did a comparative analysis of some jurisdictions, and Nigeria is not the first to enact this kind of legislation, a comparative cross-country survey shows that.
“In 1967, the United States of America passed the Age Discrimination in the Employment Act (ADEA) into law. The law specifically prohibits the use of an applicant’s age as a factor for employing such a person. This has, in effect, helps to reduce unemployment and get more experienced persons into the workforce in America.
“Recently in the United Kingdom, the law banning age discrimination in the workplace was enacted in 2006 through The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. Under this regulation, anybody under the age of 65 cannot be denied the offer of a job on account of his/her age.
“In Nigeria, you cannot be employed into the civil service if you cannot earn a pension. For you to be pensionable, you must have spent 10 years in public service.”
Responding to Dr Abiodun Fatai – Abatan’s , a senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University, Ojo, question on how the motion would help to address the challenge in the private sector where innocuous benchmarks and age limits are central to employment, the lawmaker stated:
“Very good question, a lot of the private sector practitioners always cite the disposition of the public sector institutions on age regulation as to why they practice same.”
