The Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, has urged ministries, departments and agencies to be transparent in the implementation of the intervention programmes government had put in place to address youths unemployment.
The lawmaker, who represents Borno South in the Senate, also charged his colleagues to be strict in their oversight of MDAs responsible for implementing various intervention programmes.
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Ndume made the call in a statement on Friday while reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s address to the nation on the violence that trailed the nationwide #EndSARS protests.
The protest, which began as demonstrations against Police brutality, quickly snowballed into demands for good governance. It later turned violence after it was hijacked by hoodlums.
President Buhari had, in his address on Thursday evening, listed some of his administration’s initiatives principally targeted at youths, including the creation of N75 billion National Youth Investment Fund.
Ndume said for these programmes to be felt by the targeted beneficiaries, government agencies must ensure a transparent implementation and federal lawmakers should carry out their oversight function diligently.
The Senator also called on the National Assembly to expedite action on ensuring that adequate compensation for the victims of police brutality is included in the 2021 national budget.
Ndume, who commended the President for heeding the advice to address the nation, urged the EndSARS protesters to stop demonstrations to prevent hoodlums from further looting.
He called on prominent celebrities who took part in the last #EndSARS peaceful protests before it was hijacked by hoodlums, to represent the youths and negotiate with the Federal Government as a way of resolving the ongoing imbroglio.
He also said the youths should organise themselves in such a way that would ensure that government implement all their five-point demands and other programmes announced for them by the President.
The statesmen should also dialogue with the youths in their various geopolitical zones, he added.
