Ogunlowo Emerges President as HuCaPAN Holds 12th Annual General Meeting

By Our Reporter

Dr Olufemi Ogunlowo has emerged the President of the Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, HuCaPAN.

He was elected during the Association’s 12th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos on Thursday.

Other elected officials were Nzeribe Okegbue, PhD., 1st Vice President, Otunba Tunji Balogun, 2nd Vice President and Mr. Tunde Johnson, Esq, 3rd Vice President.

Others are Mrs. Perita Kimeng, Treasurer and Mr. Ofe Philip Orighomisan, Publicity Secretary while Jide Afolabi remains the Executive Secretary.

In his address, Ogunlowo appreciated members for their support of the Association noting that over 53 companies joined the Association in the year under review.

He stressed that his administration would continue to work with various stakeholders to ensure fair recruitment and decent work for all Nigerians.

Ogunlowo stressed that the future of employment in Nigeria is bright because ‘our ethos in HuCaPAN is decent work for every Nigerian, and we will continue to work on that. We will work with our clients to ensure the terms of engagement in line with the principles of decent employment’.

He added: “HuCaPAN is now a trade union, being a union of Private Employment Agencies (PEAs). Our industry is global, and we work with social partners like the International Labour Organisation, the Federal Ministry of Labour, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, to put in place the frameworks. There is no specific legislation for out-sourcing in Nigeria, so we operate under the International Conventions, and these conventions have been ratified and domesticated in Nigeria. These global standards are what we operate under.

“There are two of such – one for migrant worker companies that employ Nigerians outside of Nigeria, and the other for companies that provide employment within Nigeria. So it’s a continuous journey as the industry is growing and it can only become better.”

The future of labour and employment in Nigeria is bright if the principle of decent jobs and fair pay is prioritised, stakeholders have said.

At the 12th Annual General Meeting of the Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria (HuCaPAN), in Lagos, stakeholders said it was expedient to address the challenge of casualisation in the workplace because every Nigerian has a right to decent job and fair pay.

The Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mrs. Julianah Adebambo who was represented by a Director in the Department of Employment and Wages and Zonal Director (South-south), Mr. Joseph Akpan, said the ministry will continue to collaborate with its social partners to end casualisation to ensure better industrial peace and harmony.

He said: “The major problem we have is casualisation, and so we will continue to work with social partners, such as HuCaPAN, to address this challenge. Thus, we are seeing the promotion of decent work, and looking forward to a better industrial peace and harmony with HuCaPAN on board.”

Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Adewale Oyerinde, who was represented by Director (Legal, Regulatory and Taxation), Thompson Akpabio, urged HuCaPAN to remain committed to its aims and objectives.

“He said: “HuCaPAN needs to adapt to challenges in its sector, which includes new trends in the work place, one of which is the virtual work model. The most important thing is not just productivity, but the result. NECA and International Labour Organisation (ILO) is working on this to develop workable options for different sectors.

“So we will urge HuCaPAN to reinvent itself and look at workable models within the sectors so that results can be achieved effectively.”

HuCaPAN is the umbrella association of Private Employment Agencies (PEAs) with over 300 member-companies. It regulates and galvanises companies to meet global standards and best practices.