Nigeria @66: Aremu seeks presidential remodeling of labour institute
By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
Mr Issa Aremu, the Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), has called for a comprehensive remodeling and repositioning of the institute.
Aremu made the call on Wednesday in Ilorin at a pre-66th Independence Anniversary Town Hall in Ilorin.
The theme of the programme is entitled: “Nigeria @ 66: Reflections on Labour Education Since Independence”.
He said a strategic presidential comprehensive remodeling of MINILS would be in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, one area where Nigeria has made giant strides to decolonise and give meaning to independence is in the area of education in general and labour education in particular.
“While the wealth of humans is the wealth of nations, education is the key to unlock the talents and innate skills of workers for development,” he said.
Aremu said MINILS remains Nigeria’s foremost labour market institution dedicated to labour education.
He said since its establishment, the institute had remained a strategic national asset promoting industrial harmony, strengthening democratic labour market institutions.
According to him, the institute also support sustainable economic development through educational service delivery.
“The institute had impacted millions of workers, employers and government officials through labour education for independent trade unionism, decent work, industrial harmony and productivity improvement,” he said.
The director-general, however, said decades of increased utilisation, ageing infrastructure, low budgets, technological changes and inadequate capital renewal had overstretched the institute’s physical facilities.
He said urgent modernisation and redevelopment of the institute would represent a strategic national investment.
He added that this is aimed at repositioning it as Africa’s leading centre of excellence for labour education in industrial relations, social dialogue and productivity development.
Aremu said the modernisation presented a unique opportunity for Tinubu to consolidate Nigeria’s democratic legacy.
This, he said, is by becoming the second democratically elected President, after former President Shehu Shagari, to undertake a transformational milestone of MINILS.
He also advised on labour-friendly policies such as minimum wage increase, prompt payment of pension arrears and public sector jobs improvement.
Aremu added that a presidential comprehensive remodeling of MINILS would add to the selling points of the President ahead of the 2027 polls.
“The institute’s programmes had significantly contributed to industrial peace, improved collective bargaining, workplace democracy, productivity enhancement and peaceful labour-management relations,” he said. (NAN)
