By Yemi Adeleye
Lagos – The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday urged Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode to work with security agencies to check the spate of fake job advertisements in the state.
The call followed a motion moved by Mr Abiodun Tobun (APC-Epe I) at the Assembly on the security challenges emanating from such fake adverts that were pasted on street walls in the state.
Tobun prayed the House to call on Ambode to direct the Commissioner of Police, Department of State Security (DSS) and the State Neighborhood Safety Corps to curb the activities of scammers who defraud job seekers.
“This motion is borne out of conviction. If you go around Lagos, you will be amazed seeing the number of adverts of jobs that are non-existent with a view to luring unsuspected youth into their dens,” he said.
According to him, some victims are kidnapped, raped or even die in the process.
“Ritual killers also use that as a strategy. It is time to track down this and ensure that it is nipped in the bud,“ Tobun, Acting Chairman, House Committee on Works and Infrastructure said.
Contributing, the Acting Chairman, House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Rotimi Olowo said: “When population is moving geometrically and job is growing arithmetically, there is going to be vacuum.
“They come up with strategy to recruit and maim and kill. I am worried as a politician because 2019 is around the corner, people will believe the politicians are the ones who need human parts.’’
Olowo said that the Lagos State Signage and Advertisements Agency (LASAA) must ensure scammers are detected.
Also speaking, Mr Segun Olulade (APC-Epe II) called on the newly established Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps to do more in terms of intelligence gathering.
“We have seen a lot of advertisements on walls in the streets claiming what they are not,’’ he said.
Mr Yinka Ogundimu, on his part, said that emphasis should be laid on publicity and enlightenment.
Ogundimu called for the sustenance of the state’s Employment Trust Fund, aimed at providing loans for small scale businesses.
Mr Rasheed Makinde (APC-Ifako-Ijaiye II) in the House, who noted that he had once been a victim of such sharp practices, said that Lagos State was working assiduously to provide jobs.
He urged the Federal Government to do the same to curb influx of unemployed youth into the state.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa said: “it is not out of place to seek for jobs but the situation has turned upside down.
“ I strongly believe that the neighborhood safety corps is not doing enough in this aspect.’’
Obasa called on the corps to verify claims on adverts placed on walls and liaise with the police in intelligence gathering to address the trend.
