The Director General (DG) of the Micheal Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) in Kwara State, Issa Aremu, marked one year of his appointment with a positive transformation leadership programme which coincides with the monthly exercise of the staff, family, and stakeholders of the Institute.
Speaking after a brief “workout” and physical stretches, Aremu thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for the opportunity to serve the country. He also appreciated the efforts of the supervising Ministers of Labour and Productivity, Festus Kyamo SAN and Dr. Chris Igige for their support and encouragement in the past one year.
Stressing the importance of physical exercise, Aremu noted that optimal delivery is driven by a healthy body and brain which he said are best achieved through constant and coordinated sporting exercise activities.
“Some of the modest achievements we recorded today are due to the support we have received from our staff who are increasingly getting fit for work through physical exercise” Aremu said.
“This is the 9th edition of the monthly physical fitness which is important because it has helped us to be healthy towards making strategic policies and interventions that have brought about the transformation of MINILS we are witnessing today.”
Aremu, who was applauded by the house trade unions NASU and SSA for turning things around at the formerly moribund Institute, expressed the need for a change of “mindset” towards charting a course for development.
“We have shown that Nigeria and Africa can and must work as it was in the past,” said Aremu, who urged Nigerians to join President Buhari to unite against the present security challenges facing the country.
“We didn’t agonise the situation due to the decay we met on ground but have organised ourselves to change obscurity to light and visibility.”
In his own remarks, the special guest the former Secretary of Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and one time Coach of the Nigeria Golden Eaglets, Fanny Amun further emphasised the significance of physical exercise which he described as an antidote for healthy living and longevity of life.
Abdulwahab Adebayo Lawal, the Chairman of the Senior Staff Association (SSA) and Adebayo Roseline, who is the Chairperson of Non- Academic Staff Union (NASU) of the institute in their separate remarks, commended the DG for breathing new life into the Institution which was once a shadow of itself.
Among many other interventions, Aremu, since his emergence has overseen the construction and commission of new hostels with a clinic, Enterprise and Skills acquisition centre, remodelling of the Institute’s syllabus and championing an overhaul of the Sporting facilities.
As the institute prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary, the DG revealed that a five-year transformation agenda will be unveiled with the purpose of setting it on a sustainable path.
