By Olusegun Emmanuel, Abuja.
There are strong indications that the report of Senate Committee on Interior over the tragic immigration recruitment exercise which claimed not less 18 lives of job-seekers may eventually be thrown into dust bin .
The Senate had on the 18th of March this year, three days after the Immigration recruitment tragedy of Saturday, March, 15, 2014, mandated its Committee on Interior, to carry out comprehensive probe of circumstances that led to the recruitment tragedy which claimed 18 lives of job seekers at various recruitment centers and left several others injured.
The report is believed to have indicted the ministry of Interior over the tragic death recorded in the botched recruitment exercise.
The report of the Committee, chaired by Senator Atiku Bagudu, laid on the table several weeks behind schedule in May, was not attended to by the Senate before it went on long recess penultimate week.
However, investigations revealed that the delay of Senate’s consideration of the report revealed that the report may not be considered at all, before the expiration of this seventh National Assembly because the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, who was involved in the recruitment saga, is a political associate of the Senate President.
A troubled Moro was said to have explained to the senate leadership in confidence that he was sincere about the exercise and that he was only trying to make a hitherto shady recruitment exercise transparent thereby allow equal opportunity for applicants.
Although, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enag while briefing the Senate press recently said all outstanding reports before the Senate will be considered before expiration of Seventh Senate.
A senator who pleaded anonymity said nothing will come out of the investigative hearing because the man in question, Commrade Aba Moro who hailed from Benue state is very close to the leadership of the Senate.
He, however, said he cannot stick out his neck to ensure that the red chamber takes action on it for fear of being labelled the enemy of his own people.
“He was nominated by the Senate President, so, nothing can come of the report because the Minister is widely known to be like his political son,” he said.
The Senator disclosed further that most of the committee members did not see the report before it was submitted to the Senate just as a member of the committee who pleaded anonymity said that there is no report anywhere about the probe saying the Minister involved is more or less a sacred cow, going by his closeness to the Senate leadership.
It could be recalled that about 18 job seekers died and many were injured on March during a nationwide recruitment test conducted by the Nigeria Immigration Service.
