DR. JOHN A. OLANREWAJU

DR. JOHN AWONIYI OLANREWAJU, was born on 20th November, 1960 at Isanlu in Yagba-East Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree (B.A Hons) from University of Lagos, an M.Sc (Geography with focus on population and development planning) University of Ilorin, another Master of Public Administration (MPA) from University of Ilorin and a Ph.D in Organisation and Management from Capella University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Dr. Olanrewaju also obtained Certificate in Management of Training Institutions from the International Training Center of the ILO, Turin, Italy; Certificate in Industrial Relations from the George Meany Centre – national Labour College, Maryland, USA and Certificate in Management of Small and Medium Enterprises and Research and development based Start-Ups, from the Negev Institute of Strategies of Peace and Development, Beersheva, Israel. He is a member of many Professional Associations: Nigerian Institute of Management, (MNIM), Nigerian Industrial Relations Association (MNIRA), and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (ACIPM) amongst others.

Dr. Olanrewaju joined the then National Institute for Labour Studies, now renamed Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS) in 1990 as Senior Administrative/Personnel Officer. By dent of hardwork, diligence, resourcefulness and honesty, Dr. Olanrewaju rose to become the Director of the Institute with his appointment in 2005 by the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Within two years of assuming the position of Director, Dr. Olanrewaju was able to reposition the academic and educational affairs of the Institute, making it a major contributor to Nigeria’s labour policies and sustainable socio-economic development programmes in the country. The Annual National Labour Relations Summit is one of the numerous initiatives in this respect. In recognition of these outstanding contributions, the Institute’s status was upgraded and Dr. Olanrewaju was elevated and redesignated its first ever Director-General/Chief Executive on 1st January, 2008; the position he occupies till date.

At the International Scene, Dr. Olanrewaju has contributed immensely to the formulation of labour policies at the global and regional levels. He has been part of Nigerian Government delegations to the yearly International Labour Organization (ILO) Governing Council meetings and Conferences in Geneva, Switzerland since 2005. He served on sensitive committees that drew up policy guidelines in areas of employment and social policies, labour standard and multilateral relations. He has also been part of Federal Government delegations to the African Labour and Social Affairs Commission, in Ethiopia, South Africa and Egypt where he served as part of the committee of experts to formulate labour and social policies for the development of African since 2006. He served as a member of the Federal Government team on the Governing Council of the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC) in Harare, Zimbabwe since 2007. The Centre is responsible for building capacity and formulating programmes to strengthen Labour Administration in English Speaking African Countries.



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