Youths condemn Taraba for selling employment form

Some Taraba youths, under the umbrella of the Taraba Concern Citizens Forum, on Monday led a peaceful protest over what they described as extortion by the state government in the name of selling employment forms.

The leader of the protesters, Mr Mansur Jirgi, told journalists that the N3,500 being charged prospective applicants by the state Civil Service Commission was outrageous.

The group wondered why the state government would extort innocent and poor applicants in the name of employment at such a difficult economic time.

The group said, “We want the state government to abolish the fee and allow applicants to access the employment forms free of charge.

“We equally want the process to be free, fair and transparent, and devoid of political interference.”

Reacting to the protest, the Chairman, Taraba State Civil Service Commission, John Mamman, told journalists that it was the right of citizens in a democratic society like Nigeria to protest.

He, however, urged them to follow the lay down procedures in registering their grievances.

Mamman stated, “It is their right in a democratic society like ours to protest, but in doing so, they were supposed to write to us to express their grievances prior to the protest.

“I want to, however, thank them for making the protest peaceful. We have directed them to put their grievances in writing for appropriate action.

“We are about to employ 2,000 persons into the service and I expect the people to appreciate the governor for the initiative to employ people into the service to reduce unemployment and not protest.” Punch