Senate abolishes age limit in job advertisements

The Senate has reached a resolution to abolish age limitations in job advertisements.

The senator representing Benue South senatorial district, Patrick Abba Moro, sponsored the motion on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.

“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,” Moro stated.

He said such discrimination is in contravention of Chapter 4, Section 42 (2), of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He drew the attention of senators to the provisions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that prohibit age placement in the advertisement of job opportunities, adding that discrimination by age bracket has denied lots of potential that would have contributed positively to the world economy, insisting that Nigeria cannot be different.

The lawmaker stressed that at age 30, Nigerians can still serve in the National Youth Service Corps, describing it as ironic that some establishments consider people over 30 unemployable, a development he said is in clear breach of applicants’ fundamental human rights.

He called on the Federal Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Productivity to draw up policies that would enthrone equality immediately.

After debates on the motion at the plenary presided over by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Senate adopted a resolution calling on the Labour Ministry to redraft policies abolishing age limitations in job advertisements.