At the 30th
Anniversary celebration of the award-winning Transcorp Hilton Abuja, the
Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, commended the relentless
efforts of the chairman, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, Tony O.
Elumelu CON, towards job creation as a strategy for poverty alleviation in
Nigeria and Africa.
“ I am here because
Tony Elumelu creates jobs. I take interest in those who create jobs and
Tony is one of them,” the minister stated.
The minister went on to share that the Labour
statistics on Transnational Corporation of Nigeria show that 1500 to 2000
people are employed at the Transcorp Hilton alone.
Elumelu’s commitment
to poverty alleviation is perfectly expressed in a theory he continues to
champion called Africapitalism. It is the belief that Africa’s private sector
can, and must play a leading role in the continents development. The future we
all want for ourselves will be the one of our own making.
Africapitalism can be
seen in action through the entities under Tony Elumelu’s Heirs Holdings Group,
including the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc. which currently has
over 3,000 Nigerian’s in its employ, United Bank for Africa with over 14,000
Nigerian staff and the Tony Elumelu Foundation that has so far empowered 3000
Africans through its flagship Entrepreneurship Program.
The Honourable
Minister of Labour & Employment, Chris Ngige in his speech, also said
“Social intervention is about attending to those who are vulnerable, those who
can’t afford to eat three, two or even one square meal a day. Social
intervention is what Tony Elumelu does.”
The chairman
Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc. also stated that improving lives and
transforming Africa was the motivating factor when Heirs Holdings acquired its
controlling stake in Transcorp Plc. Job creation is one of many ways Elumelu
continues to push this agenda. The Conglomerate’s subsidiary, Transcorp Power
Limited stands today as the country’s largest power generator in line with its
commitment to power Nigeria’s industries, hospitals, schools and create a truly
enabling environment for Nigeria’s entrepreneurs to thrive.
The minister of Labour
& Employment also praised Tony Elumelu’s continued investment in power
generation through Transcorp Power Limited, as well as the steps he took at UBA
to retain employees through the recession when other companies chose to
retrench. At a time when other institutions were laying off, UBA promoted
3000 staff in one day.
The
minister closed by recognising the fact that Elumelu has done a lot
to create jobs but more should be done, to which Tony Elumelu replied “Help us
create the right enabling environment and we will.”
Tags
Society