Why ILO partners NECA to eliminate child labour in Nigeria

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have expressed that they are collaborating to accelerate progress on the elimination of child labour in the cocoa and artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) supply chains in Nigeria.
This would be achieved through the Accelerating Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains in Africa (ACCEL Africa) project.
The ACCEL Africa project is a four-year project funded by the Dutch government. However, implementation in Nigeria is from May 2019 to October 2022.
Applauding the commitment of NECA to fight the scourge of child labour, Dennis Zulu, director of ILO/country officer for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, commended NECA for providing a platform to amplify the elimination of child labour in global supply chains.
He noted that employers’ organisations such as NECA played a critical role in the fight for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour by engaging in tripartite discussions on the issue of child labour, providing inputs into legislation and encouraging the implementation of ILO child labour conventions’ principles at national, state and enterprise level.
Furthermore, employers’ organisations have been encouraging their members to stop using child labour and to be more aware of and discourage adverse hiring practices of their suppliers that take advantage of child labour.
Zulu further urged NECA to continue to participate in projects with development partners to withdraw child labourers from fields and prevent child labour.
“We are hopeful that through the ACCEL Africa project we can continue to strengthen NECA’s involvement in all tiers of child labour elimination, as well as NECA’s capacity to effectively eliminate child labour in supply chains in the private sector,” said Zulu. “Child labour elimination is too important to not have employers’ at the forefront, promoting good practice.”
Director-general of NECA, Dr Timothy Olawale, in his response, stated that, “the challenge of child labour globally has become worrisome and unacceptable to us. No nation can afford to mortgage its future leaders through unwholesome activities such as child labour.”