Minister of state for labour and employment, Hon Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has appealed to the leadership of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for increased support for youth employment and social security in Nigeria. She pushed for the engagement of Nigerian professionals at ILO.
Onyejeocha made the call on Wednesday when she met with the director-general of ILO, Gilbert Houngbo, in Geneva, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the 350th Session of the ILO Governing Body.
The minister, on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, congratulated Houngbo as the first African DG of the ILO after over 100 years of its establishment.
She assured him of President Bola Tinubu‘s support and cooperation on strategic partnership.
In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja by her special adviser on media, Mr. Emameh Gabirel, the minister also commended the ILO boss for promoting social justice and fighting inequalities in the world of work.
The minister also applauded ILO’s implementation of programmes in Nigeria, particularly those focused on youth employment, a key priority of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Onyejeocha said, „We are seeing your handwork on labour relations, and we are proud of you as the first African DG, after 100 years.
“We will require technical assistance from you, in the departments in our Ministry, especially in the areas of digitalisation. Nigeria is the second highest African contributor to the ILO budget (next to South Africa), thus the need to be more involved and strategically placed in the ILO. We therefore specially request that more Nigerian professionals be employed into the ILO to bridge the under-representation of Nigeria in the ILO workforce, both locally and internationally.”
The minister, therefore, informed the DG that Nigeria is vying for re-election into the GB of the ILO as Regular Member for the 2024-2027 Triennium, and covets the support of the ILO.
Nigeria currently contributes the second-highest amount among African nations to the ILO budget, and Onyejeocha requested increased collaboration and representation.
This includes seeking more technical support for the development of youth employment programmes and skills development initiatives.”
Additionally, Nigeria requested ILO‘s assistance in upgrading the ILO office in Abuja to a „Decent Work Office“ serving English-speaking West Africa and developing action plans for the implementation of recently ratified ILO Conventions.
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