The Federal Government is committed to inclusive skills development, ensuring that every region benefits from the programmes as part of a strategy to address unemployment holistically.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi stated this while receiving the Ona of Abaji and Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council of Chiefs, Adamu Baba Yunusa, who paid a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
He explained that the Ministry does not employ people directly but creates the enabling environment for people to be gainfully employed, particularly through self-employment.
According to him, the Ministry assists unemployed persons to acquire skills, based on the demands of the labour market, to enable them to be self-employed and even become employers of labour.
Dingyadi said that the Ministry has been extending the skills development programmes to every region and every socio-political entity in the country, including the FCT and its chiefdoms.
The Minister said: “We will continue to extend these services to the entire FCT, comprising your chiefdom and others. We will endeavour to pay more attention to your Emirate so that more people from there will benefit from these skill development programmes facilitated by the Ministry and its agencies. We also have a platform where we encourage people to key in and interact with employers of labour and from that interaction, they can find employers who are willing to employ them, depending on their credentials.”
Dingyadi informed the Ona of Abaji that enrolment into most of the programmes is done online, and urged him to encourage his people to key into the programmes.
The Ona of Abaji had earlier acknowledged the Minister’s dedication to duty and relentless efforts in addressing the challenges of labour administration and employment.
He assured the Minister that the FCT Council of Chiefs would continue to support the Federal Government and offer useful advice on the peace, progress and development of the FCT and the nation.
The Ona of Abaji requested employment opportunities for people in the FCT to empower them and ultimately strengthen the socio-economic fabric of the region.
In the meantime, the Ministry has reaffirmed its support for the bill that seeks to protect the rights of domestic workers who are among the most vulnerable groups in the Nigerian labour market.
In his remarks during the post-public hearing interactive meeting on the ‘Bill for an Act to provide for the Documentation and Protection of Domestic Workers and Employers, and for other matters connected therewith’, organized by the Senate Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi noted that domestic workers play a crucial role in Nigerian households and society, but for too long, they had remained among the most vulnerable groups in the labour market, facing precarious working conditions, low wages, and lack of legal protection.
The Minister, therefore, described the bill as a welcome and timely initiative aimed at ensuring that domestic workers were afforded the dignity, rights, and protections they deserve while also setting clear obligations for their employers.
He said: “As mentioned by my predecessor during the public hearing last year, the Ministry of Labour and Employment is fully committed to supporting this bill and ensuring its effective implementation when passed into law. We believe that the passage of this piece of legislation is a crucial step towards promoting decent work and protecting the rights of domestic workers in Nigeria. We expect that the amendments proposed by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, as contained in the memorandum submitted by the Ministry during the public hearing, are reflected in the bill before passage.”
Dingyadi told the meeting that the Ministry in line with its commitment to International Labour Standards, included in its 2025 work plan, the ratification of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No 189), which sets out minimum standards for the treatment of domestic workers worldwide, believing that its ratification would further strengthen the efforts to protect the rights of domestic workers in Nigeria.
He also informed the gathering that the Ministry had taken proactive steps to enhance the legal framework for labour relations in Nigeria.
Speaking further, Dingyadi said: “As part of the ongoing review of our labour laws, the Ministry has amended the definition of a worker in the current Labour Act Cap L1 2004 to explicitly include domestic workers. This amendment is incorporated in the reviewed Labour Standards Bill, which will soon be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration. By formally recognizing domestic workers within our legal framework, we seek to eliminate ambiguities in their employment status and ensure they enjoy the same protections as other categories of workers.”
He encouraged all stakeholders to engage constructively and contribute insights that would help shape an inclusive and effective law, while deliberating on the bill, urging them to seize the opportunity to make history by laying the foundation for a more just and equitable working environment for domestic workers and their employers in Nigeria.
The Minister commended the Senate Committee for its commitment to ensuring the rights and protection of domestic workers, and other categories of workers across all sectors of the economy.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, Diket Plang, said the meeting was convened to get the input of the Ministry for proper contextualisation.
