By Jide Olusola President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared the eradication of child labour a national development priority, saying the menace threatens education, poverty reduction, economic growth, food security, human capital development and national security The President stated this on Wednesday in Abuja at the National Dialogue on the implementation of Nigeria’s National Child Labour Policy and National Action Plan, 2026–2030. He also launched the 2024 National Child Labour Survey Report.
Tinubu, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, said the Federal Government would intensify efforts to address the conditions forcing children into exploitative labour. “Every nation is judged by how well it protects its children. A child who is forced into labour instead of attending school loses more than an education. That child loses opportunities, confidence, health and the chance to fully contribute to national development,” he said. “For this reason, the Federal Government considers the elimination of child labour not merely as a labour issue, but as a national development priority.
” He identified education as a major safeguard against child labour, noting that his administration was pursuing reforms addressing out-of-school children, education data, teacher development and skills acquisition. Tinubu also said the Renewed Hope National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme would support school attendance while reducing hunger among children from vulnerable households. He added that social protection initiatives, including the NG-CARES Additional Financing Programme and the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity Programme, were being implemented to improve household resilience and help parents earn decent livelihoods.
In the same vein, Akume has said Nigeria’s expanding digital identity system is strengthening access to Africa’s digital economy. ” He said verified digital identity was supporting banking, telecommunications, social protection and cross-border trade.