Barr. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, has pledged to sponsor legislation mandating the establishment of skills acquisition centres across Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency if elected in the coming polls.
The pledge comes as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate seeks a return to the House of Representatives, where she previously served from 2007 to 2023, making her one of the longest-serving federal lawmakers in the country, before joining the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet.
She made the pledge in a post on her official X handle on Tuesday, where the APC candidate declared that a nation’s greatest asset is not its natural resources but its human capital — a conviction she said guided her tenure at the ministry, where she oversaw vocational training, digital skills programmes, apprenticeship schemes, and industry-aligned certification for thousands of Nigerians.
“Skills today equal jobs tomorrow — this is my commitment to every young person in our constituency,” Onyejeocha said.
The lawmaker’s legislative career has been marked by significant bills that became law.
In 2017, she sponsored the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, which mandates every hospital in Nigeria, public or private, to accept and treat anyone with a gunshot wound without demanding police clearance first.
The law prescribes a fine of N500,000 or five years imprisonment for any person or authority whose failure to act results in the unnecessary death of a gunshot victim.
That same year, she sponsored the Anti-Torture Act, which provides comprehensive provisions penalising acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
She also sponsored the National Senior Citizens Centre Act of 2018, signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari to establish a framework addressing the challenges faced by Nigeria’s elderly citizens aged 60 and above.
During the 7th Assembly, she was awarded the Most Vibrant Female Legislator in Nigeria by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASSAN).
She was also the pioneer Chairman of the Women in Parliament committee, leading efforts to tackle gender inequality and improve living conditions for children and the less privileged.
As Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation from 2011, her oversight assignments led to the upgrade of Nigerian airports to international standard.
In 2013, she called for the holistic investigation and prosecution of officials whose compromise of aviation safety rules led to the crash of Dana Air Flight 992, which killed 153 passengers and crew and six persons on the ground.
As Minister of State for Labour and Employment under President Bola Tinubu, Onyejeocha advanced the Federal Government’s skills development agenda.
In December 2024, she launched the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative (RHEI), a programme designed to engage 93,731 unskilled and unemployed persons across Nigeria through skills acquisition training in both traditional and emerging fields. The initiative reserved 3,000 slots for persons with special needs.
In December 2025, she performed the foundation-laying ceremony of the Abia State Skill Acquisition Centre at Uvim community in Isuikwuato Local Government Area.
The centre, designed to comprise an administrative block and hostel facilities, is to be delivered within 12 months in line with the standard design approved for all National Directorate of Employment (NDE) Skill Acquisition Centres nationwide.
“Our focus is not just on starting projects, but on delivering functional centres that equip Nigerians with skills for decent work and sustainable livelihoods,” she said at the site.
Previous Tenure in Abia State
Before her time in the National Assembly, Onyejeocha served as Transition Executive Chairman of Umunneochi Local Government Area in 2003, where she executed erosion control projects, improved community security, and carried out rehabilitation of feeder roads.
In appreciation of her work, the Traditional Rulers Council of Umunneochi conferred on her the chieftaincy title of Ada Ejiaga Mba — meaning “ambassadorial daughter” — making her the first recipient of the title.
She was also appointed Commissioner for Resource Management and Manpower Development under Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, where she was recognised for establishing skill acquisition centres across Abia State.
The election is scheduled for early 2027. Onyejeocha called on electorate to join her effort, adding that skills development would remain her top legislative priority if elected to represent Isuikwuato/Umunneochi.
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