— 3 automatic vacancies for each family of deceased Immigration applicants
President Goodluck Jonathan has directed ministries, departments and agencies of his government to stop conducting mass recruitment forthwith, with the exception of the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force.
Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, disclosed this after the weekly meeting between Jonathan and his cabinet in Abuja yesterday.
He said the decision was a result of the deliberation on the strategy used in last Saturday’s Immigration recruitment exercise where at least 19 job-seekers lost their lives.
According him, Jonathan has also cancelled Immigration recruitment and set up a panel to conduct a fresh one.
He said the committee is made up of the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, David Parradang, and representatives of the Inspector General of Police, Comptroller of the Nigeria Prison Service, Corps Marshall of the Federal Road Safety Corps and Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Maku also said the president has directed that three young members of each of the families of the deceased applicants and those injured during the exercise should be given automatic employment.
He said the president also directed that such exercise, except the ones being carried out by the armed forces, should not be held again.
“He instructed all MDAs henceforth never to embark on any exercise of this nature in recruiting people into the public service, because what happened could have been avoided altogether.
“He has directed that henceforth no one outside the army, police, who usually recruit people through physical exercises, no other MDA or department of government is allowed to embark on this type of exercise that we witnessed on Saturday.”
Maku said council members took turns to condole with the families of the deceased over the loss of their loved ones and send their best wishes to those that were injured during the recruitment exercise.
He said: “FEC noted with grief and deep regrets the tragedy of those who died in the ill-fated Nigeria Immigration exercise. FEC, in sending condolences to the families of the deceased and also in sending special wishes to those who are injured and receiving treatment in various hospitals in different parts of the country, expressed total regrets that this tragedy took place at all.
“Council members were full of grief when the issue was discussed. We expressed our condolences to the president and vice president and we indeed reassured Nigerians that all of us who have the privilege of serving this nation at this time are feeling the pains with the families of our young ones who lost their lives. We reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring that this kind of tragedy does not repeat itself in this country.
“Our hearts go out to the families of the deceased. This nation is fully behind them. The grief is not their own, the grief is the grief of all Nigerians and the grief is the grief of the government and the people of Nigeria. We regret it and pray for the souls of those who have departed.”
Maku said the president would meet with the families of the deceased applicants to personally condole with them over the loss of their loved ones as soon as he returns from his trip abroad.
