The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, has called for more commitment from workers of the ministry to achieve the diversification agenda of the Federal Government.
He said the ministry was central to the economic diversification agenda of the government, adding that without the support of the employees, it would be difficult to implement policies of government that would drive growth and reduce the level of unemployment in the country.
Adebayo disclosed this during a meeting with leaders of the four workers’ unions of the ministry who had resolved their differences and came together as a team to achieve the mandate of the ministry.
The delegation was led by the Permanent Secretary to the ministry, Dr Nasir Sani-Gwarzo.
A statement from the ministry on Friday said the minister reminded the workers that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) gave them a marching order to drive growth, diversify the economy, create jobs and boost export.
He said the ultimate aim of these objectives was to lift 100 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years.
He added that the ministry was working assiduously towards the direction in achieving that mandate.
“Nothing can be achieved if the unions refused to resolve their differences and come together as a team to move the ministry forward,” the statement quoted him to have said.
Adebayo, according to the statement, also assured the leaders of the unions of his support and urged them to continue to work together with the new permanent secretary particularly in the area of staff welfare.
He further assured them that the ministry would look into their suggestion on the need to have a resident labour desk officer from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to assist the management on labour matters.
The Minister of State at the ministry, Ambassador Mariam Katagum, challenged them to come up with a strategic vision to achieve the goals of the ministry.
She said, “Now that you have a brand new permanent secretary, you should be able to extract whatever you need to help him get motivated to make you happy so that you can contribute your quarter to national development.”
Earlier, Sani-Gwarzo pledged to put in his best to support the ministers to achieve their agenda for the ministry.
He said, “I was told that one of the issues that we are going to face is the union but when I came here, I realised that all of them have one thing in common; they have a sincere mindset to move the ministry forward.
“The greatest gift I have received here is your support and the second is the fact that the unions have resolved to work together to support the ministry.”
The Chairman of the Senior Civil Servants Association of Nigeria, Onwuyai Okonkwo, said that they would provide the right solution to tackling the challenges facing the ministry.