Parents, advocates, and policy stakeholders under the Nigerian Women in Leadership Coalition (WIL Coalition) have called for urgent national reform of Nigeria’s parental leave system,
They described the current framework as unequal, burdensome, and economically limiting.
At a public activation held on Monday at the Ministry of Labour in Abuja, the coalition launched the Best Start campaign.
It called for the adoption of a national parental leave framework, guaranteeing a minimum of 16 weeks of fully paid maternity leave and two weeks of fully paid paternity leave across all sectors.
The coalition stated that Nigeria’s current leave policies leave mothers with only 12 weeks of maternity leave with half salary, and zero days of paternity leave for fathers, besides those working in the Federal civil service and a few states.
“This means that for most fathers in the private sector, there is no consistent statutory protection, creating unequal access to care during the most critical period of early childhood development’’, it stated.
According to the coalition, the proposed reform seeks to establish a unified national standard applicable across federal, state, and private sector employers, supported by clear enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance and end the existing patchwork of inconsistent policies.
It called for legal protection against pregnancy and caregiving discrimination; transparent public reporting on employer compliance; and a structured pathway to extend parental leave protections to informal sector workers over time.
Citing economic evidence, the coalition noted that Nigeria could unlock up to $23bn in economic value by closing gender gaps in workforce participation.
Speaking, the Executive Secretary, WISCAR, Ekimini Akpapan, said: “Nigeria does not have a functioning parental leave system. There is no national standard for paternity leave. And maternity leave provisions are inadequate. We have fragmented rules across states and employers.”
On his part, a father, Samson Elijah, regretted that he did not have enough time to bond with his daughter.
He said: “As a working father, with no leave, I did not have enough time to spend with my child during the early days. Most times I come back at night, and the child is already asleep”.
A grandmother, Mrs Priscilla Shinshima, also lamented that her daughter, who is a nursing mother, was forced to return to work after 12 weeks at 50% payment.
“As a grandmother, my daughter was forced to return to work after 12 weeks at 50% payment. 12 weeks is not enough for recovery, which affects your productivity. Also, the 50% payment is not enough support,” said Shinshima, a nurse.
Another father, Joshua Chinedu, said: “I believe the two weeks are necessary so that the dad can help the new mum. It also helps the dad to have a good relationship with the child”.
In her argument, a Senior Program Officer, Nigerian Governors
Forum, Tolu Abdul, said: “Evidence shows that parental leave does not cause productivity to drop. Instead, it improves retention. As we all know, talent stays when care is supported.”
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