FG committed to end child labour – Ngige

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige has reiterated Federal Government’s commitment to accelerate action in achieving alliance 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Senator Ngige said the programme, seeks immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and secure prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour by the year 2025.

The minister, made this assertion Friday, in Abuja during the commemoration of the World day against Child Labour 2018 with the theme “Generation Safe and Healthy” and sub theme “Elimination of Child Labour and Protection of young workers”

According to him “this campaign also aims at accelerate action to achieve target 8.7/alliance 8.7 of the sustainable Development Goal (SDG) which seeks among other things to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.”

The Minister reiterated that child Labour is the engagement of child under 18 years of age in any work that deprive them of their childhood and the opportunity to be educated and also hamper their physical and moral development and this has assumed a global dimension and attention, hence this year’s theme is meant to awaken the need to improve the safety and health of young workers and end child labour especially in its worst forms.

“To build a generation of safe and healthy workers, preparation must begin early with parental and community awareness for young people to be aware of risks and able to advocate on their own behalf, education about work hazards and risks as well as about workers’ rights, need to start in school and continues through vocational training and apprenticeship programmes” the Minister said.

He added that practical steps must be taken to eliminate the root causes of child labour and ensure that the rights of young workers are protected within the ambits of the law. Noting that the Federal Government under President Buhari’s Administration has done a lot in the fight against child labour and will continue until it is eliminated in Nigeria.

Ngige however solicited the collaboration of frontline MDAs, workers and employers union, civil society organizations, (NGOs) and other stakeholders to create time bound child labour programmes and projects and make budgetary provision for them in line with their various mandates as encapsulated in the national action plan (NAP) for elimination of child labour and take such programmes to the communities and involve the community gatekeepers, market women, traditional rulers and children.

Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment Ibukun Odusote said that the World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) is set aside internationally for awareness creation, mass mobilisation and activism on prevention of child labour.