The Honourable Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has said that Nigeria is committed to the integration of the African continent aimed at promoting trade, movement of persons, goods and services and infrastructural development.
The Minister of State disclosed this when he received in audience the delegation of the African Union (AU) Labour Migration Advisory Committee, led by Dr. Alves D’Almada.
He said Nigeria would always be in support of African Integration but not to the detriment of the laws of individual sovereign States in the continent. “African integration should benefit all countries, it should be symbiotic not parasitic, not a relationship that one country will benefit at the detriment of another” he added.
He observed that the issue of irregular migration to Europe and other non-African countries constituted a big problem in Africa which should not be tolerated nor encouraged. “We need to encourage total African integration to stop migration through illegal means”, he advised.
The Minister of State then pledged Nigeria’s readiness to assist in legislation and policy to support the Committee in promoting African integration
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Dr. Alves D’Almada, said they were in the Ministry to explore ways of collaboration between the Committee and the Federal Government to further promote African integration through job creation for the African people, managing migration issues, promoting free movement of goods and services and addressing the issue of visa-on-arrival in the continent.
D’Almada requested the assistance of the Ministry in hastening the process of ratification and domestication of laws that concern free movement of persons, goods and services.
He then commended the Nigerian government on the successful negotiation of a new National Minimum Wage for itsworkers.
