Nigeria Formalises Domestication Of Maritime Labour Convention

Nigeria has taken a major step towards the domestication of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)2006 with the submission of the instrument of ratification to the International Labour Organisation, ILO.
The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu presented Nigeria’s instrument of ratification of the MLC 2006 to the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Mr. Guy Ryder during the just concluded 102nd Session of the ILO Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
With this submission, Nigeria became the fifth country from Africa, and the thirty-Eighth  country amongst the 185 member organisation to ratify the Convention, which provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for the world’s over 1.2 million seafarers.
The Convention also aims to achieve both decent work for seafarers and secure economic interests in fair competition for quality shipowners.
Chief  Wogu noted that the quest to provide productive and decent jobs for the teeming youth population in an environmentally sustainable manner made the ratification of MLC 2006 more compelling.
He noted that the provisions of the MLC 2006 are in line with the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan Administration which has human capacity development particularly youth empowerment as its focus.
Earlier, the ILO Director General, Mr. Guy Ryder, commended the Nigerian Government for ratifying the Convention and described the submission of the ratification instrument as the highpoint of the 102nd session of the ILO Conference in Geneva, adding that the 38 countries that have ratified the Convention jointly account for 69 per cent of global ship tonnage.
Also speaking, Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, who was represented by the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Barrister Callistus Nwabueze Obi, described the ratification of the MLC 2006 Convention as a major milestone in the quest to enhance the maritime labour industry in Nigeria.
He said “the ratification of MLC 2006 is a defining moment for the Nigerian maritime sector. It comes with a whole lot of activities that will greatly impact on the maritime sector in terms of labour and in terms of crewing. He described the convention as the “fourth pillar” of the international regulatory regime for quality shipping, complementing the key Conventions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
Barrister Obi assured that NIMASA management will work with other stakeholders to vigorously pursue the domestication of the Convention within the shortest possible time.
Chairman, House Committee on Treaty and Agreements, Hon. Dayo Bush Alebiosu and Chairman, House Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity – Hon. Essien Ekpenyong Ayi, who were part of the official delegation to the event, assured of their commitment to work with other stakeholders for prompt domestication of the Convention.
Other stakeholders who witnessed the event include the pioneer Board Chairman of NIMASA, Alhaji Tijani Ramalan, Chairman, Nigerian Seafarers Welfare Board, Otunba Kunle Folarin, and Comrade Owei Lakemfa of the Nigerian Labour Congress amongst others.