On June 8 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Chief Festus Keyamo (SAN), member of the African Union Labour-Migration Advisory Committee, Dr Princess Asie Kabuki Ocansey from Ghana and the Sierra Leonean Minister of Labour and Social Security, Alpha Timbo will receive the Distinguished African Decent Work Crusader, Legendary Decent Work and Distinguished Ministerial Decent Work Service awards.
The awards would be presented during the launching of the African Leadership Forum in the country by President Julius Maada Bio, while Keyamo would deliver a keynote address titled Migration: Decent Work As A Tool For Development.
The president has been slated to receive the African Migration Presidential Champion award while the former Malawian President, Dr Joyce Banda would get the Africanstateswoman Decent Work award.
The event is part of the 2021 African Migration Summit (AMS) event series being powered by the Journalists International Forum For Migration (JIFORM) headquartered in Nigeria comprising over 300 journalists across the continents covering migration and the multiple international award winning Nekotech Center of Excellence, Ghana.
A statement issued by the President of JIFORM, Ajibola Abayomi on Monday said the awardees were recognized based on their positive contributions to labour migration and advocacy on decent work over the years.
“After a careful analysis of the migration trends in Africa, we have come to a conclusion that there is a need to encourage leaders to do more by getting involved in the decent job negotiation. Africa should have multiple bilateral platforms to compel the Middle East countries and others to treat African labour workers with dignity.”
Ajibola said, Ocansey, an international labour expert with over 30 years experience is a blessing to the continent with her unrelenting efforts to liberate Africans from slavery and hailed the Sierra Leonean government for engaging her as a consultatnt to facilitate the training of youths in the country for decent work abroad.
“This is a model and legal channel that should be embraced by other African nations for us to eradicate human trafficking, child labor and extortion of labour workers.”
The JIFORM president also lauded Keyamo for his consistent decent work advocacy. “The Minister never allowed the peck of office to stop him from speaking the truth to the authorities and the masses to embrace regular migration, respect for the dignity of labour and proper documentation of migrants as parts of indices of the development.
He said Timbo, a renowned labour migration guru with knowledge about the International Labour Organization (ILO) matters, was found worthy for the award because of numerous inputs that led to lift of ban on labour-migration in Sierra Leone and promotion of positive migration across the continent.
Dignitaries to speak at the occasion include Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Nigeria; Gerry Weiner, the former Canada minister of Citizenship and Immigration; Professor Byron Price, the Global Director Diaspora Innovation Institute, City University, New York, USA; Williams Goiz, the regional Director of Migration Forum Asia; Professor Joseph Teye, the Director Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, Legion with the participation of United Nations Youths Association, Ghana and Enddeadlyworkcoliation USA.
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