FG adopts National Policy on Child Labour

The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday adopted a draft policy on Child Labour to address the challenges of over six million Nigerian children involved in hazardous child labour.
The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu, said this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the council meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Wogu said the draft policy was presented to council by his ministry to address the prevalence of child labour, which undermines national development and provides a reservoir of children for easy recruitment into violent act.
According to him, the policy, which is adopted for implementation, is developed through a wide consultative process involving all relevant sectors of the economy.
He said the sectors included, governments, labour union, employers’ associations, civil society and faith-based groups.
“The National Policy on Child Labour will provide the needed coordinated and comprehensive framework for multi-sectoral action against the worst forms of child labour in Nigeria,” Wogu said.
The council also approved the ratification of the Constitution and Cooperation Agreement establishing the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use.
The memo was presented by former Minister of Environment, Hajia Hadiza Mailafia, before she was relieved of her position as minister.
The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who briefed correspondents on the agreement, said WASCAL was a German Government initiative for pursuit of research on climate change and sustainable land management.
Maku said the WASCAL works in partnership with local experts and institutions in Africa.
Maku said the Federal Universities of Technology, Akure and Minna, were selected as competent centres to run doctorate and master degree programmes, respectively, under the initiative.
He said WASCAL had entered implementation phase following the signing of the cooperation agreement and WASCAL constitution by the concerned ministers.
He said: “Because Nigeria stands to benefit scientifically and socio-economically, in the WASCAL programme, council approves that Nigeria ratifies the cooperation agreement and the constitution establishing WASCAL.
“The council directed that other necessary processes be initiated by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, towards the ratification of this treaty and its domestication.”
Similarly, the Minister of Transport, Alhaji Idris Umar, said council approved the establishment of Command Control Communication and Intelligence Centre for Sea Ports at the Nigerian Ports Authority.
Umar said council approved the project at the cost of N2.40 billion, with a completion period of 14 months.
Umar said the project would help in providing a secure environment for ports operations within the Nigerian territorial waters and in curtailing threat of terrorists’ activity in the ports.
He said the project would also create 145 job opportunities, including 33 professionals and 77 non-professionals during its execution and 35 more job opportunities as the project progressed.