House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating Overlapping Functions of Government Agencies has mulled the abolishment of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
The committee also recommended the National Electricity Management Agency (NEMSA) for the same purpose.
At a continued hearing of the committee, lawmakers said the two agencies have failed to live up to their mandate and instead, costing Nigeria’s taxpayers a lot.
According to them, NDE has failed to stem the rising tide of unemployed amongst the teeming youths of the country.
For NEMSA, the committee which noted the weak metering system by the electricity distribution companies in the power sector stated that the agency was yet to tackle the issue.
The Committee therefore demanded a five year performance assessment report from the NDE for it to justify its existence in line with the mandate of the probe panel.
Chairman of the House Committee Hon.Victor Mela Danzaria gave the ruling the investigative hearing that also featured NELMC and NAPTI.
Some Committee members which included Hon Adedeji Olajide and Hon. Zacharia Yanpan had picked holes in the performance of the power regulatory agency, saying that the government could not continue to fund them.
Hon Olajide said: “The agency is sucking the blood of Nigerian citizens and should be merged with other agencies performing similar functions”.
In his presentation, the Managing Director of NEMSA, Engr. Aliyu Tukur said that the agency was established in 2015 by federal government to ensure that there was reliable electricity supply.
He added the the foremost responsibility of the agency was to ensure that materials used in the industry suited the technical specifications and of good metering quality.
In his part, the Director-General, NDE, Mr Abubakar Nuhu said that the agency was to ensure there was employment for Nigerians.
“The agency has presence in all the states of the federation and local council areas and had been providing employment and skills for unemployed Nigerians in line with the mandate”, he said.
But the Committee Chairman, Mela and another member, Hon.Simon Karu said that the agency was not providing job for the youths.
The committee therefore adopted the motion by Karu for NDE to provide a 5 year performance assessment report on employment generation or be recommended for merger.
It gave the agency one week to submit the report.
The Committee also threatened zero allocation to the National Power Training Institute in the 2023 Budget for not address the issues of power failures.
