The Nigerian Senate has urged the federal government to raise the age limit attached to job vacancies in the country.

The lawmakers made the demand on Wednesday, July 15, following a motion raised by Senator Ibrahim Gobir during plenary.

During the debate on the motion titled urgent need to review age barrier during recruitment and employment, Gobir argued that the age cap for jobs advertised by both government and private sector excludes many competent applicants.

He pointed out that many graduates who spend about 10 years or more seeking jobs are often excluded from employment applications due to no fault of theirs.

The senator said many of such individuals have now resorted to falsifying age to fall within the age limit for them to be gainfully employed.

Another lawmaker, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, questioned why the federal government which had placed embargo on its employment for over 13 years would expect graduates to remain at the age they were during the period of the embargo.

After deliberations, the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, urged the ministry of labour, employment and productivity to address the matter.