Hon. Edionwele: Extortion of job seekers is criminal
House of Reps’ primary responsibility is to ensure that people’s welfare is taken care of
Honourable Joe Edionwele represents Esan West, Esan Central and Igueben federal constituency of Edo state in the House of Representatives on the platform of the PDP. In this interview with Chika Onuorah and Ude Ebere, he speaks on his election, fraudulent extortion of job seekers, plans for his constituency and the challenges as a first timer in the green chamber
Que: What is the history behind your emergence at the House of Representatives?
Well, politically, I was a civil servant, serving under the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research, where I rose to the position of the chief accountant. From there, I contested and won election and became the chairman of Esan West Local Government in 1999. From there I became a member, Local Government Service Commission in 2002. Thereafter, I became the Zonal Secretary, South South of PDP, from which I resigned and contested election to the House of Representatives.
Que: You resigned your position just to contest?
Yes, I resigned just to contest.
Que: Did you have any challenges contesting with the opposition party in your constituency?
Of course, in my state it is the APC that is in government but in my Edo Central Senatorial Zone, of course, even though we have the PDP but part of the area I contested was where I was once a council Chairmanl; so I was known in the community and in the environment, and due to my past record and performance, the people voted massively for me. Though there were challenges but we surmounted them.
Que: As one of the new members in the green chamber who moved a motion about the fraudulent extortion from employment seekers by government agencies and recruitment firms in Nigeria, could you throw more light on the crux of the motion?
You see, the Federal Statistics Office gave the unemployment official figure as 27million unemployed people. So, because of that, that pressure, that figure, that high rate of unemployment makes a fertile ground for fraudsters. Just imagine if they have to collect one thousand from each job seeker, that’s already 27billion naira for maybe a space of 10 or 100. This is criminal. It is bad enough not to be unemployed and again someone is exploiting you. The unemployment rate is bad to the extent that unemployed youths have turned themselves into consultants and recruitment agencies because it is a simple way to actually raise money. So, it is a fertile ground for fraud while the fraudsters smile to the bank and the unemployed graduate is suffering waiting for employment. The worst is that, whatever it costs, even if you put it at N100, you know what it will amount to and so that is not good enough especially in the ministries and government agencies. They are supposed to have personnel departments that do these recruitment for free instead of monetizing it. Besides, we have good institutions like ASCON in Badagry; they can conduct these interviews for free. That is a federal institute; we have them across the states even WAEC can conduct it for free. That’s to say if it is done based on merit and you pass and you are now asked to pay some administrative charges, that’s more considerable. But it’s wrong asking a job seeker to pay for the purpose of participating or being able to access recruitment forms.
Que: Can you further put in context the justification for the motion, looking at the situation of Nigeria today?
It is because we have a lot of unemployed graduates in the country. I am from an academic background, Ambrose Ali University and I know how many undergraduates drop out every time because of this discouraging fact and the burden of the unemployed graduates fall back on us. They come to meet you and say ‘give us money’; how much? N2,000 for job application. Tomorrow, another one comes and that’s how they keep coming. You also have to pay their transport; you have to pay for the photocopying of their credentials; they have to take passports; sometimes, they have to travel for their aptitude test to a place that is far away from home and all these require financing. So, there is a need to stop that, at least, the graduates should be able to freely participate in employment processes. The worst is that they are likely not to be employed, yet allowed to go through rigorous processes. I think our primary responsibility in the House is to ensure that the welfare of our people, particularly our youths is taken care of. Otherwise, you saw what happened when the Immigration recruitment exercise was conducted. Let’s suppose these same people demanded a refund of the money they paid, would they have paid back? Definitely no! So, these are my worries.
Que: What is the House’s attitude to the motion?
The Committee on Labour and Productivity will look into it when constituted and ensure strict compliance; it’s an already adopted motion; so, we will ensure strict compliance.
Que: What are your agenda actions for your constituency?
Significantly, I will ensure that they have the dividends of democracy. I won’t leave them alone and of course I trust that I will do my best for them and by God’s grace, assist those I can in areas of health and the likes.
Que: As a first timer in the House, what are your challenges?
As a first timer, one of the challenges of being in the House is the quotation of standing orders of the House. We have 19 orders and over 200 sub-sections and rules; so you don’t just stand up and say whatever (comes into your head); you have to know the order on which you are talking about. We are learning fast. I have been able to raise a motion; so, we are indeed catching up.
Que: As you have just set out, the beginning will certainly present its peculiar challenges. Do you, occasionally, feel intimidated in any way?
Not at all! We are all colleagues. No constituency is bigger than the other. So whether you are the speaker, deputy; we are all one. So, basically, your focus should be debates, participate in debates, raise good motions that will affect the Nigerian people and your constituency and, of course, try to see when committees are formed and participate.
