The Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment has now reacted to publications in the media accusing the Ministry of complicity in human trafficking, especially of Nigerian girls to other parts of the world.
According to the various publications, The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora, Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, had on Thursday, 16 July, 2020 accused the Ministry of illegally issuing licences to Private Employment Agencies, doing so after a Federal Government moratorium was placed on the issuance of such licences since 2017.
Akande-Sadipe said that on account of the alleged illegalities and irregularities the Ministry employed in the recruitment process, agents were allowed to take Nigerians to Lebanon, a country that lacked a labour pact with Nigeria; girls were allowed to be taken out by agents without the mandatory counselling and orientation, and agents were allowed to operate without annual reports on the domestic staff sent abroad.
The Ministry in a Press Statement has stated categorically that it has not issued any Recruiters Licence with respect to the placement of Nigerian citizens abroad in breach of the relevant provisions of the Labour Act CAP L1 2004. Furthermore, at no time did the Federal Government issue any moratorium against the issuance of Recruiters’ Licence. We challenge anyone making the allegation to produce such moratorium if it exists.
Recruiters Licences are issued to fit and proper persons/agency in accordance with Section 25 of the Labour Act CAP L1 2004 and other requirements for the issuance of such licenses.
It must be emphasized that to date no Private Employment Agency (PEA) issued clearance by the Ministry of Labour and Employment has been found to be involved in human trafficking. It is on record that none of the trafficked Nigerian girls to Lebanon or any other country is linked to a Private Employment Agency issued Licence and clearance by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
To set the records straight, at no time did any person, body or Committee request the Ministry of Labour and Employment to suspend its statutory duty of issuing recruiters licence to qualified PEAs as being peddled by some uninformed persons.
The fact-finding mission set up by the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs from 4th to 8th June 2018 to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to investigate complaints of human trafficking of Nigerian domestic workers indicated that “there were many illegal recruitment agencies, including Travel Agencies that were recruiting domestic workers to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East”. No PEA licensed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment was found culpable in human trafficking in that country. The statement further read
For the avoidance of doubt, the Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2018 merely requested the Ministry of Labour and Employment to suspend the issuance of oversea recruitment clearance (Not Recruiter’s Licence) pending the development of Standard Operating Procedure on foreign recruitment. Being and Inter-Ministerial Agreement no such clearance has been issued from that time till date.
It is therefore not true but a Legislative misrepresentation for the Ministry of Labour and Employment to be accused or held responsible for the huge number of Nigerians trafficked through the Nigerian borders every year as it does not constitute part of the security Architecture at land and sea borders and International airports.
Rather, the Ministry of Labour and Employment should be commended for instituting a watertight licensing regime which guarantees regular migration of Nigerians to work legitimately in other countries, and for being the Secretariat of the Nigerian Task Force against Forced Labour, Child Labour and Human Trafficking.
The statement was then concluded by urging those responsible for the misinformation to desist Those who for reasons best known to them have mounted an orchestrated campaign to malign the image of the Ministry are therefore by this medium advised to discontinue as facts are sacred.