Who is Nigeria’s Minister of Labour and Employment?
Nkeiruka Onyejeocha is Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Employment, has been in charge of the ministry since Senator Simon Lalong has gone to the Senate.
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It is the number ministry that exposes the failure of government both at the national level and the state level. Because the government would always jump at signing agreement papers but they’d renege.
The ministry of labour and employment has the highest number of “workers” because its mandates relate to meeting the demands of labour workers.
Establishment of Labour Ministry In Nigeria
The operation of labour dates back to the colonial era in the 1930s. Its core mandate was to ensure cordial relations between the employers of labour and the employees.
The first Department of Labour was established in Nigeria on October 1, 1942, as agitations grow among workers because of the growing cost of living.
On April 1, 1958, when the Ministry of Labour was created, the Department of Labour emerged with it and after 19 years of independence, the Federal Ministry of Employment Labour and Productivity was established.
In January 2007, the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo renamed it the Ministry of Labour. Other successive governments have also taken steps to rename until they settle with the Federal Ministry of Labour and employment.
Agencies of Labour ministry
In Nigeria, the ministry has five agencies and many other departments that help it to deliver its mandate to workers, they are:
- National Directorate of Employment (NDE)
Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) - National Productivity Centre (NPC)
- Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF)
- Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS)
Lalong succeed Dr. Chris Ngige, the immediate past minister of Labour and Employment, he was assisted by a Lawyer Festus Keyamo (Minister of State for Labour), a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). Keyamo is now the Minister of Aviation in Tinubu’s cabinet.
Past Ministers of Labour in Nigeria since 1999 to date
- Hussaini Akwanga
- Dr Muhammad Hassan Lawal
- Adetokunbo Kayode
- Chief Emeka Wogu
- Chris Ngige
- Simon Lalong
Official website of labour: labour.gov.ng/
