NASU Wants Interior Minister, Immigration Boss Sacked

Abba-Moro

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack the interior minister, Abba Moro and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), over the death of some applicants in the botched Immigration recruitment exercise that took place across the nation last Saturday.

NASU expressed concern that the death toll might increase in the days ahead, “in view of the high number of those who are said to have sustained various degrees of injuries”.

“The Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, rather than taking responsibility for the lack of foresight and maladministration and resign his appointment, blamed the job-seekers for being responsible for their deaths and the injuries they sustained because of impatience,” the union said.

The union added in a statement signed by its general secretary, Comrade Peters Adeyemi noted that “the criminal free use of tear gas against these young unemployed graduates as if they were common criminals at some of the centres contributed to some of the stampedes that led to the deaths.

“It is scandalous for these young Nigerians to have purchased their deaths with one thousand naira each.

“It was clear to any discerning mind that the whole exercise was going to be a fiasco that will end up in a tragedy. The Ministry and the NIS were aware of the high incidence of unemployment in the country, which is put at 38 per cent and even higher, if the World Bank figures are to be relied on”.

Not only that, the union stated that both the minister and the immigration department “were aware of failures of previous mass recruitment exercises”.

The union therefore noted that they should have learnt from previous mistakes and “taken adequate measures to ensure theirs will be hitch free. It has turned out not to be the case”.

The union condemned the use of stadia as examination centres and emphasized that “the so called aptitude test or examination was only a scam, aimed at fulfilling all righteousness and a cover up because the vacancies had already been filled by applicants who have very influential connections at the Presidency, National Assembly, the Judiciary; among Ministers, other top government functionaries and captains of industries”.

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