By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

The Ministry of Labour and Employment was agog on Monday as the Minister Simon Bako Lalong and the Minister of State, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha assumed office.

Lalong and Onyejeocha were welcomed by heads of various departments and agencies in the ministry and the staff. 

Welcoming the Ministers, the Acting Permanent Secretary, who is a director in charge of Productivity, Measurement and Labour Standards, Juliana Adebambo, said the President made the right choice for the ministry and pledged the loyalty of staff to ensure that the ministers succeed.

The Minister of State, who spoke before Lalong said, “I will support all of us including our Minister that is our leader in all aspects to make sure that there will be a change. Our youths are on the street and are looking up to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.”

On his part, Lalong among others, said “This is a call to service, and we shall do everything within our powers to give our best in assisting the President to fulfil his Renewed Hope Agenda for a better Nigeria. Nigerians have trusted President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima with their mandate, and therefore expect a better nation where their dreams and aspirations will be fulfilled.

“The President has, in turn, mandated us to handle the very important aspects of Labour and Employment, which are critical to national development and prosperity. The task is certainly enormous but achievable, especially with the abundant human resources Nigeria is endowed with. We, therefore, need your support and understanding to succeed.

“Under my stewardship, the Ministry of Labour and Employment will fulfil its mandate of ensuring decent work for all Nigerians and making sure that our citizens particularly the youth and women get the opportunity to deploy their energy, creativity, talent and gifts to the development of the nation.

“We shall therefore mobilise and deploy all the resources of the Ministry towards ensuring that the matters relating to Labour and Employment are galvanised across relevant MDAs and sectors of the economy in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President. Our workers must get value for their labour and operate in a safe and conducive environment.

“Because of the level of unemployment, underemployment, and challenges associated with the work environment, we have been mandated by Mr President to ensure that Nigerians get decent employment and are adequately remunerated for their labour both in the public and private sectors. We shall not spare any effort to protect the Nigerian worker and guarantee his dignity at all times.

“This administration will therefore escalate the relations with the private sector, development partners, international agencies, and NGOs among others to make sure that unemployment and underemployment are reduced to the barest minimum according to the plan of the Tinubu Administration.

“On the relationship with the organised Labour, the Government through the Ministry shall work closely with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, and their affiliates towards not only ensuring that all pending industrial disputes are settled amicably but also addressing with strong determination the new minimum wage and other palliatives arising from the removal of fuel subsidy.

“Mr President has directed that we move on with negotiations to arrive at amicable resolutions that will make our workers overcome the current pains, “  

Lalong said that the Ministry shall leverage technology, skill acquisition, entrepreneurship, and agriculture among others to open up more employment opportunities for all Nigerians. 

“This is in addition to current Safety Net Jobs and new ones that this Government will initiate within the coming weeks and months, “ he said. 

The new Minister of Labour and Employment said in the coming weeks, they shall unveil detailed plans of President Tinubu’s vision for the ministry and also spell out the role that the Ministry and its agencies, development partners and Nigerians, in general, will play in actualizing it. 

“We shall be engaging all relevant partners and receiving briefings towards a robust performance, “ he added