ILO DG: Nigeria will support the best candidate —Ngige

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has said that Nigeria will support the best candidate for the post of the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Ngige said this when he received the Australian candidate for the post of Director-General of the International Labour Organisation and incumbent Deputy Director General of ILO, Greg Vines, in his office. Vines was accompanied by the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, John Donnelly and the Secretary to the High Commission, Annabelle Simpson.

A new Director-General of ILO is expected to emerge through secret ballot at the 344th session of the Governing Board on March 22. Nigeria has three votes in the Governing Board.

Speaking after listening to the manifesto of the Australian candidate, Ngige noted that from inception, ILO has made tremendous success in sustaining the world of work and therefore everything possible should be done to support, energise and re-energise the organisation, especially in the post COVID-19 pandemic era.

A press statement by the Deputy Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan, stated that the Minister said the COVID-19 pandemic has left the economy of many nations very debilitated, distorted the world of work and inflicted loss of income on the working group, particularly those in the informal sector.

“The ILO should look out for the best in choosing the next Director-General. I am happy that you pointed out that tripartism is working in Nigeria. I want to assure you that tripartism is here and we are working and social dialoguing well in the spirit of decent work agenda.

“We want to assure that as a country, we have decided that we will give our votes to the best candidate.  We look forward to getting others to sell their manifesto to us like you,” the statement said.

“Nigeria occupies a prime place in the Governing Board of ILO. We had to get back to the Governing Board in 2016 after 10 years exit. What is spectacular about our return is that we came back in full force, ranging from the government side, the workers represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the employers’ federation, represented by the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA).

“Again, we were elevated. On the government side we moved from titular to full regular members of the Governing Board. Even before we did this movement, recognising the role of Nigeria in the Governing Board, I headed the government group as the president for two years. So, it is a very big honour,” he said.

The statement further said that Ngige thanked the Deputy Director General (Mr. Vines) and the Director General, Guy Ryder, for superintending the election that gave Nigeria that elevation and assisted her to discharge the functions of that office creditably.

The Minister went on to describe the visit of the Australian candidate to Nigeria as a step in the right direction, assuring that the country has no problem with his manifesto.

“The manifesto shows somebody who has deep knowledge of the workings of the ILO. So, on behalf of the Nigerian tripartite partners, I want to inform you that we have received your manifesto and we are going to consult further on it.”

Earlier, Mr. Vines assured that if elected, he would tackle the challenges facing the world of work including gender inequality, youth unemployment, child labour, employment insecurity, inadequate social protection, amongst others.

“He said ILO needs strong leadership to address these challenges, the reason  his country was pushing him forward for the job. Vines noted that he has a background spanning decades on labour matters working in government, trade union and ILO.

“The Australian candidate promised to pursue reinvigoration of social dialogue in ILO, international labour standards that are relevant and applicable to the world of work, gender equality and inclusiveness in the workplace to accommodate people with disabilities.

“He pledged to pursue a strong relationship with the United Nations and World Bank in building capacity in labour administration and social protection.”

Also present at the event were the President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba, the General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja, representatives of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Dr. Tommy Etim and NECA, Adenike Adebayo.

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