The federal government has pledged to prioritise gender mainstreaming as a core principle in its ongoing labour reforms.
According to the minister of labour and employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, the move is to ensure equal access to employment opportunities for women and vulnerable workers free from discrimination.
The minister made this known while delivering a keynote address at the 2025 Senior Officers’ Conference of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Keffi, Nasarawa State. The minister outlined other key pillars of the reforms, which include strengthening institutional capacity, digitising service delivery, and enhancing tripartite collaboration.
Dingyadi noted that other aspects of the reforms will focus on expanding occupational safety and health coverage and reinforcing accountability and compliance frameworks.
In a statement issued by the ministry’s head of press and public affairs, Patience Onuobia, “the theme of this year’s conference, ‘Reforming Labour Administration System in Nigeria,’ aligns with the ministry’s reform agenda and reflects Nigeria’s aspirations to harness its human capital for sustainable development and global competitiveness.
The minister noted that evolving global dynamics such as technological innovations, demographic shifts, climate change, and economic transformations are reshaping the modern workplace. These changes, he said, require Nigeria to adapt its labour systems to remain resilient and inclusive.
He emphasised the ministry’s need to respond to these shifts by building an agile, efficient, transparent labour administration system that is responsive to today’s workforce.
“This conference offers a golden opportunity for reflection, reset, and renewed commitment to the principles of decent work and equitable labour practices,” Dingyadi added.
He reaffirmed the pivotal role Nigeria’s labour administration system plays in fostering industrial harmony, protecting the rights of both employers and employees, and supporting national development.
Earlier in his remarks, Salihu Usman, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, stressed the need for Nigeria to reassess its labour strategies in the face of evolving work environments.
Usman highlighted how innovations such as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are transforming the world of work, calling for a proactive approach to reposition the country’s labour administration to meet current and future challenges.
