The Federal Government has expressed concern over the prevalence of child labour, particularly in the agricultural sector, across West Africa. Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, stated that children work long hours under hazardous conditions, depriving them of their right to education, health, and a childhood free from exploitation.

Onyejeocha made this known at the first Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) child labour experts annual review meeting in Abuja. She commended the ECOWAS, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Action Against Child Labour in Agriculture in West Africa (ACLAWA) Project for organizing the meeting.

“The factors driving child labour and forced labour are multifaceted, including poverty, limited access to quality education, socio-economic instability, and weak enforcement of labour laws,” Onyejeocha said. “Addressing these issues requires a coordinated, holistic, and sustained effort at local, national, and regional levels.”

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The Minister also highlighted measures put in place by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration to tackle child labour and poverty in the country. “The Nigerian government, through the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, has created an enabling environment for the elimination of child labour and forced labour, by the ratification of the key and instrumental ILO Conventions and the setting up of structures.”

Vanessa Phala, Director of the ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and liaison Office for ECOWAS, noted that despite progress made in addressing child labour, the latest global estimates reveal that 160 million children remain trapped in child labour. “Sub-Saharan Africa, home to many of our member states, bears a disproportionate burden of this crisis,” Phala said.

Dr. Alieu Omar Touray, representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, acknowledged the support of the ILO through the ACLAWA Project for the successful organization of the meeting. He emphasized the need for collective action to reverse the trend of child labour in West Africa.