The Senate has passed a resolution to abolish age restrictions in employment advertisements and applications in the country.
Patrick Abba Moro, the senator representing Benue South senatorial district, sponsored the resolution on the Senate floor on Tuesday.
According to Moro, “It is pathetic that a graduate in Nigeria who could not get a job upon graduation and decided to go back to school with the hope that a higher qualification or a second or Master’s degree could give him a better employment opportunity is thrown into a career paradox when upon completion of his Master’s, he comes out to find that he is now above the age of employment and therefore not employable by the sole reason of his age.”
He stated that such discrimination is a violation of Chapter 4, Section 42 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He drew senators’ attention to International Labour Organization (ILO) provisions that prohibit age placement in job advertisements, adding that discrimination based on age bracket has denied a lot of potential that would have contributed positively to the world economy and insisting that Nigeria cannot be different.
The senator emphasized that Nigerians over the age of 30 can still serve in the National Youth Service Corps, calling it ironic that some institutions deem people over the age of 30 unemployable, a trend he claims violates applicants’ fundamental human rights.
He urged the Federal Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Productivity to develop policies that would immediately enshrine equality.
Following deliberations on the motion in the Senate plenary presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Senate adopted a resolution requesting that the Labour Ministry redraft regulations prohibiting age restrictions in job advertisements.
