The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has
rejected the report of United States Department of Labour that blacklisted the
nation as “engaging in Child soldiering” due to Boko Haram activities in the
country.
Ngige made the country’s position known when he received
representatives of the department led by Mr. Marlin Hardinger in his office,
the Deputy Director (Press) in the ministry, Mr. Samuel Olowookere, said in a
statement on Wenesday.
Ngige said that the blacklisting of Nigeria as a result of
desperate activities of Boko haram terrorists cannot be linked to the Federal
Government.
He said, “Similar low rating of the country by the
department, includes sectors like agriculture, gold mining and construction as
well as begging and scavenging.
“Child involvement in those sectors are partly due to
cultural practices as well as consequence of poverty and poor education in
parts of Africa.
“The issue of artisanal gold mining by children was a
cultural practice based on village groups who involve youths and women
groupings.”
Ngige assured the international community that every other
aspect of the report where the nation was genuinely lagging would be swiftly
tackled by the present administration.
The minister said that Nigeria would issue a technical
report to appropriately respond to all the issues raised by USDOL and put them
in proper perspective.
