The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to urgently raise the age limit usually attached to job vacancies in the country.
The call by the Senate followed its consideration of a motion titled: “Urgent need to review age barrier during recruitment and employment” sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Gobir.
Citing order 42 and 52 of the Senate Standing Rules, Gobir noted that recruitment requirements of Federal Government Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and other private bodies which set age barriers “inadvertently excludes and marginalizes skillful and competent prospective applicants from participating in such exercises.
He observed that due to the high unemployment rate in the country, many graduates spend up to 10 years seeking employment and this puts them in disadvantaged position by no fault of theirs.
The Senator also noted that many individuals resort to falsifying their age all in a bid to fall within the required age limit for them to be gainfully employed.
He added that the 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.
