2026: Aremu Tasks Govt at All Levels on Labour Devt 

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin 

The Director General of Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) Ilorin, Comrade Issa Aremu at the weekend called for the urgent need of government at all levels to take labour and labour issues more serious in the 2026 fiscal year.

Speaking in Ilorin on the sidelines of the celebration of his 65th birthday, Aremu said that, “Labour creates wealth through other critical success factors therefore Labour must be consciously motivated in return for labour productivity and workplace discipline”.

He observed that while employers and government must take labour serious, organized labour must also take itself serious by improved productivity, corruption avoidance and above all, avoidance of mutually disruptive work stoppages by embracing collective bargaining and social dialogue. 

Aremu who also used the occasion to laud President Ahmed Bola Tinubu-led administration of labour record in the year 2025, said that, the development has brought a new lease of life to the youths in the creation of more jobs, job security, regular payment of salaries and work place dispute resolutions in the past years. 

The Director General recalled that more than any other presidential candidates, Presidential Candidate Bola Tinubu in 2022 mainstreamed labour in his reform agenda with a whole Directorate to engage with organized labour. 

He recalled that candidate Tinubu promised an administration that would make fiscal and monetary policies work for the workers and Nigerians so they can have a good life.

He added that, true to his promise, President Tinubu has come in fullest of time as an audacious reformer/president in the last two years. 

Aremu observed that while reactions to reforms are “understandably mixed” with “reform enthusiasts” in support and “reform “pessimists” in doubt, the initiated far reaching social and economic reforms within the framework of the comprehensive Renewed Hope Agenda have impacted “more positively on the labour market”. 

According to him, “First, positive impact of the reform is the enhanced public job security, fuel subsidy removal commendably frees up massive government funds for federal, states and local government, downsizing and “retrenchment” of federal jobs, were common features of past reforms (notably under President Olusegun Obasanjo.

On the contrary, he said that, the Renewed Hope reform agenda is intentionally job- led and job protective. Approximately federal 720,000 public servants have their paid jobs secured. 

He cited the establishment of new public service institutions such as federal tertiary institutions, ministries of livestock and regional development commissions that have created new thousands of jobs.  

Aremu therefore urged the workers to continue to support the federal government so as to bring more welfare development to them and also boost their productivity.