Ahead of the 2025 World Day Against Child Labour, the Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, has called for urgent, sustained, and united efforts to eradicate child labour across Nigeria and the African continent.
In a statement issued to commemorate the global observance themed “Progress is clear, but there’s more to do: Let’s speed up efforts!”, Oyerinde stressed the need to move beyond commitments and accelerate concrete actions to protect vulnerable children from hazardous and exploitative labour conditions.
“Child labour not only robs children of their childhood, it erodes the foundation of national development. While we have made commendable progress, we must accelerate our efforts.
“We need to move from intention to action through stronger enforcement, greater investment in education, and robust support systems for vulnerable families,” he said.
Highlighting the significance of 12 June, the official date of the global event, Oyerinde described it as a critical picture of the millions of underaged children still trapped in dangerous forms of work, despite Nigeria’s ratification of key international conventions.
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These, according to him, include the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age and Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
He identified poverty, weak enforcement of labour laws, and limited access to education as key drivers of child labour, stressing the need for holistic solutions and collaborative engagement.
Oyerinde pointed to the ACCEL Africa Project—a strategic partnership between NECA and the ILO—as a practical framework already delivering impact in tackling the root causes of child labour.
The initiative, he noted, is focused on promoting decent work, improving livelihoods, and empowering at-risk communities to break the cycle of poverty.
“As employers, we have a responsibility to ensure that our operations, policies, and supply chains are free from child exploitation. We must integrate child protection into business practices and actively contribute to the broader goal of youth empowerment and national development,” he said.
He urged all stakeholders—governments at all levels, the private sector, organised labour, and civil society organisations—to strengthen collaboration and enforcement mechanisms, including the swift passage of revised labour legislation aimed at regulating the participation of children in the workforce.
