The House of Representatives yesterday read for a second time, a Bill seeking to alter Section 214 of the constitution to provide for the establishment of state and community police in the country.
The Bill, which also seeks to replace the word “force” with “service” in its nomenclature, has been referred to the special committee on constitution review.
Sponsor of the Bill, Hon. Dada Awoyele, in his lead debate, noted that the alteration had become necessary given the rate of insecurity in the country.
Awoyele argued that the establishment of state and community police was necessary as it would equip officers with the requisite knowledge of the terrains in which they work.
“The police is supposed to be for the people,” he said.
“Inhabitants of these communities will see the police as part of their communities. State and community policing is necessary because they know the terrain of these localities,” he added.
Contributing to the debate, Hon. Oladele Kayode, said the establishment of state police was long overdue as the current structure is colonial in nature, adding that for policing to be more effective, the police establishment has to be decentralised.
The lawmaker noted that decentralised policing will afford atates an opportunity to determine the number of officers it requires.
Meanwhile, the House also mandated its committee on labour, employment and productivity to investigate the incidence of casualisation and out-sourcing of jobs in both the private and public sectors.
This follows concerns raised in a motion over the scourge of casualisation in these sectors by employers who “capitalise on the high level of unemployment and the quest to maximise profits to engage casual workers and pay them slave wages under deplorable working conditions.”
Sponsor of the motion, Hon. Wale Raji, who stated that youths are engaged without formal employment contracts, which are terminated at the convenience of the employer, noted that some employers, especially in the banking and manufacturing sectors, in an attempt to cover up their illegal acts, outsource jobs to firms to recruit workers for them.
He informed the House that a high number of employees of manufacturing companies are disengaged frequently even as some of the harsh conditions in which they work have resulted in deaths.
“Due to the high rate of unemployment in the country, the companies engage desperate unemployed youths without formal employment contract and pay them slave wages. 80 per cent of employees of most manufacturing companies are hired and disengaged frequently at the discretion of the employers without recourse to the labour Act,” he said.
Raji further pointed out that, “the harsh conditions in which most of these workers work have resulted in loss of their lives, with some of them locked up in factories for as long as they work.”
Contributing, Hon. Segun Adekola blamed the government for its inability to provide jobs for youths.
He claimed that the manufacturing companies use the knowledge of this to exploit the unemployed who due to lack of jobs, and out of desperation, take up casual jobs that hardly cater to their needs.
In his contribution, Hon. Sani Abdu said the motion was a wakeup call for the House to look at the country’s labour laws and the need to mainstream the country’s productive system.
While noting that casualisation and outsourcing is obtainable around the world, he, however, pointed out that the difference is in conditions.
“There is casualisation and outsourcing all over the world but the difference is in the conditions and how employees are protected.
“Our economy is comatose and can’t meet the demands of our people. We cannot stop the exploitation of these companies without a framework to control it. Section 71 of the labour Act in itself is a problem. It does nothing to stimulate the economy or protect workers much,” Abdu emphasised.
LEADERSHIP
