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Nigerian Government vows to end casualization of workers

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Chris Ngigee

The Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed sadness over the alarming rate of casualisation in the nation’s workforce and vowed to put a stop to it.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige said this at a one-day Public Hearing on the three labour bills by the Senate Committee of Labour and Employment on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ngige said this in a statement signed by Mr Charles Akpan, the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the ministry.

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The bills include the National Directorate of Employment Act 2004, Labour Act Cap L1, LFN 2004 (Amendment bill 2021(SB.469), and Prohibition of casualisation in Nigeria (Establishment Bill 2021(SB,329)

Ngige said his ministry was committed to a seamless amendment of the labour laws to bring them at par with the international best practices.

He, however, insisted that casualisation was a vexed anti-labour practice which the Federal Government had been addressing since 2016.

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“Casualisation is a very volatile issue. Recall that during the Eight Senate, we appeared before this committee over the same issue, when some banks and financial institutions casualised and sacked workers unilaterally in 2016.

”We are not sitting idle. Time has come to stop casualisation of any form in the labour force. The private entrepreneurs must make gains to keep the business afloat but must not enslave their workers.

“However, it is not just about tackling casualisation; it is more about uprooting the problem. There is a yearly youth surge into the labour market.

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”1.2 million graduates from the universities and polytechnics move into the market yearly to look for work in the already over-bloated public service. This is not inclusive of those with NCE and school certificates.

“Since over a year now, public servants below level 12, as part of the COVID-19 protocol have been at home, some working from home, yet the public service goes on. What does it show you? Less work for more persons.

”In spite of that, the Federal Government keeps faith and takes the burden as part of the social protection scheme of the administration that is pro-people.

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”However, we must intensify efforts in job creation. That is the solution. We need a fundamental restructuring to take care of the surge,” he said.

Ngige, therefore, urged the National Assembly to grant the ministry more time to liaise within the tripartite community so as to make fruitful contributions.

”That is toward a seamless enactment of an act on the prohibition of casualisation in Nigeria, in a manner that will stand the test time,” he said.

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He added that the Federal Government could no longer close its eyes to casualisation.

“We must seek a cure and an end to this. We must nevertheless ensure that any law so enacted will stand the test of time and not one that can be circumvented ab initio.

”We need a law that will elicit buy-in from the employers of labour, the workers, indeed every member of the tripartite.

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“Before now, we have been working to redress casualisation in the oil and gas sector, and already set up a tripartite committee comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), the NNPC, PENGASSAN and other-related affiliate unions.

“The assignment of the committee is to draft a guideline on contract staffing in the oil industry, which will later be transmitted to the Federal Executive Council and to the Attorney General of the Federation.

The minister, however, cautioned that with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) all propositions in the guidelines must be in tandem with the provisions of the Act.

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“We need to modulate the guidelines to fall within the provisions of the PIA as anything that goes to the contrary is null and void,” he said.

On the bill to amend the NDE Act 2004, he admitted that it was well-intended, pointing out that the proposal to remove the minister as the Chairman of the Board of the agency was antithetical to the very nature of the NDE as a special purpose vehicle.

“The amendment is well-intended but not appropriate for the NDE as a special purpose vehicle which is inter-ministerial, tripartite and federated.

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”Its board cannot be effectively chaired by an outsider who does not have enough insight and without strong influence as the minister would in control of the agency,” he added.

He further gave examples of similar agencies such as the Customs under the Ministry of Finance and chaired by the Minister of Finance as well as Immigration under the Ministry of Internal Affair also chaired by the Internal Affairs Minister.

He further asked for more time for the tripartite to meet over the proposed amendment.

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The minister’s position was supported by NLC, TUC.

The Senate committee, however, gave the ministry and the other tripartite members two months to meet on the bills and revert to the committee. (NAN)

 

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Headlines

NNPC Foundation Trains Over 3,000 Southwest Farmers in Climate-Smart Agriculture

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In a bid to promote food security and sustainable agricultural practices, the NNPC Foundation has successfully trained more than 3,000 farmers in the South-West geopolitical zone on climate-smart and modern farming techniques.

The training, which concluded on Friday in Ikorodu, Lagos, marked the end of the Southwest phase of the foundation’s pilot programme aimed at empowering local farmers and boosting agro-productivity.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Managing Director of the NNPC Foundation, Mrs. Emmanuella Arukwe, described the initiative as a milestone in the lives of thousands of farmers.

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“Today marks the formal conclusion of the first phase of a national journey that speaks to resilience, food security, and economic empowerment,” Arukwe said.
“What began as a bold decision to support small holder farmers has translated into tangible action across three geopolitical zones (South-East, South-South, and South-West) in Southern Nigeria.”

She disclosed that a total of 3,860 vulnerable farmers across 10 locations in the three regions were trained in sustainable farming practices that improve productivity and market access.

“This achievement is not just a number, but a milestone in the lives of real people and real communities. We were able to strengthen farmers’ capacity to adapt to climate change,” she added.
“Through the training, we were able to improve access to markets, promote inclusive agriculture and especially gender representation. We also trained them on enhancing food production through sustainable techniques.”

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Arukwe noted that the programme would now move to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones as part of its next phase, saying the foundation is committed to supporting livelihoods nationwide.

“This is only Phase One. We will now turn our focus to the North-West, North-Central, and North-East zones. What we have achieved in the South will inform and strengthen our next steps,” she said.
“The NNPC Foundation will continue this mission, to support livelihoods, build resilience, and empower the hands that feed our families and beyond.
We have decided that most times you get a lot of requests from people asking us to give them palliatives and all kinds of things to help them.
But we think it is much better to teach people to fish than just give them fish so they can continue,” Arukwe explained.

Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, Mr. Wasiu Adesina, while commending the initiative, urged the beneficiaries to apply the knowledge gained to boost productivity and profitability.

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“As we all know, agriculture is the bedrock of any nation. Without agriculture, there will not be a nation, because there will be no food to eat,” Adesina stated.
“It is the farmers that produce our food, and it is important that we train our farmers with new techniques in agriculture, and that is exactly what the NNPC Foundation is doing.

“To the farmers, you have to take advantage of this training and face the farming squarely. In some great countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, farmers are the most richest people in those countries.

“This is because they make a lot of money from farming. We need to inculcate that habit in Nigeria and develop ideas in farming. Even after my tenure, I am going back to farming, so, maybe I will ask the NNPC Foundation to train me so that I also join you to be a farmer.”

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He appealed to the foundation to provide further empowerment for the trained farmers to help them kickstart their agricultural ventures.

“If the farmers have land for farming, I believe the foundation will provide financial aid to keep their farms running,” Adesina added.

Also speaking at the event, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, represented by the Director of Fisheries, Mrs. Osunkoya Daisi, lauded the Foundation’s efforts in bolstering the state’s food security.

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“On behalf of the Lagos State Government, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to NNPC Foundation for training our farmers and for training all the farmers all over the country,” she said.
“Definitely, the training will help improve food production. We can see the impact of climate change effects in agriculture. I am sure farmers have been equipped with climate-smart agriculture techniques to improve production.”

The NNPC Foundation Ltd/Gte is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited. It was incorporated in February 2023 to manage the company’s CSR initiatives and enhance Nigeria’s socio-economic development.

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Education

NUC grants ESUT full accreditation for Law, 7 other programmes

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The National Universities Commission, (NUC), has given full accreditation to the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), for her Law programme.

According to the Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr Ikechukwu Ani, this is contained in a letter addressed to the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aloysius Okolie, on Wednesday in Enugu by the NUC.

Ani said that in the letter, the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abdullahi Ribadu said the report was contained in the result of the October/November 2024 accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

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Ani disclosed that other programmes in the institution accredited by the NUC include Master of Science in Business Management; Education Computer Science; Education Physics and Agricultural Engineering.

Other accredited programmes he said were Quantity Surveying; Urban and Regional Planning; and Applied Microbiology.

He said that the letter quoted Section 10 (1) of the Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institutions, Act CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 as empowering the NUC to lay down minimum academic standards for all academic programmes taught in Nigerian universities.

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He said the session also empowers the NUC to accredit such programmes.

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Crime

Court remands 2 over alleged attempted murder

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Court discharges man accused of burning father’s house in Abuja

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.

Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.

The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.

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Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.

The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.

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She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.

“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.

Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.

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He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.

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