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Reappointed MINILS DG Vows to Advance Renewed Hope Agenda in the Labour Sector
Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
The newly reappointed Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Issa Aremu, yesterday pledged to consolidate the achievements of the last four years and further realign the premier institute to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said this would enable him provide quality labour education, promote decent job creation through youths’ skills acquisition programme and industrial harmony in the country.
Aremu statement in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital trails collection of his reappointment letter at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) on Monday and his letter of appreciation thereafter.
Aremu said that he was highly privileged to be reappointed to serve at times of far-reaching reform agenda under a deliberate, patriotic audacious President.
He added: “His reappointment further repositions him to continue with the promotion of labour/civil society/citizens engagements on the unprecedented achievements at the labour sector under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Aremu who described the president as the “Chief Reformer-in-Chief” listed the milestone achievements of Tinubu presidency in the labour sector as “2024 National Minimum Wage Act, the most expansive and impactful N758 billion bond to settle long standing pension liabilities, employment of 774 National Health Fellows, youth employability and poverty eradication program through Skill-up artisans (SUPA) program, 2-5 million Labor Employment and Empowerment Programme (LEEP) programme, mass social housing, formation of NELFUND, (Nigerian Education Loan Fund), public sector job retention and non/ retrenchment in the wake of declining public revenue.”
He disclosed that MINILS would provide regular platforms for the presidency to reengage with labour, civil societies, women, youths and People Living With Disabilities (PLWD) on the landmark policy initiatives “as we march towards 2027 presidential polls”.
Aremu was appointed effective 18 May 2021 by the former President Muhammadu Buhari for 4 years in the first instance, subject to re-appointment for an additional 4 years by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Labour market stakeholders including dedicated staff and management of the Institute bear witness to Aremu’s transformational leadership citing how his management team and staff in the past 4 years have offered transformational leadership to reposition the hitherto underperforming Institute to a fast-performing visible agency of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment based on its statutory mandate which earned him the new tenure.
Aremu also listed among other achievements like, completion of the inherited office, classrooms and hostel buildings and improvement on staff welfare through regular promotions and training.
He further listed building a creche for working parents, diversified energy/electricity source to renewable solar energy, built a new quality 10km access road with an extension to Olulade host community, initiated a new administrative block, regularly maintain the hitherto poorly unkept 15 hectares of land, regular payment of care workers, investment in capacity building and welfare of staff to improve on staff morale, training the trainers, and raising the budget and revenue of the institute.
He also added the president has commendably promoted mass citizenship engagements on the positive impact of the policy reforms of the Renewed Hope Agenda, concerning the new 2024 minimum wage, alternative public transportation after fuel subsidy removal, new student loan fund initiative among others.
Comrade Aremu has also reversed the infrastructural and environmental decay of the Institute.
He has reconstructed the access road and extended this to the community, completed a hitherto abandoned U-shaped complex building of room offices and conference, massively renovated hostels, 1000-capacity auditorium and training halls.
On its core mandate of capacity building, MINILS has upscaled the promotion of both on-site and online labour education for industrial harmony and productivity improvement in Nigeria and the West Africa sub-region.
