National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre are the two agencies of the Federal Ministry of Youth in Nigeria.
InfomediaNG in this article explores the name change, organizational structure, and functions of the Ministry of Youth in Nigeria.
Who is the Minister of Youth?
Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim is the new Minister of Youth, her appointment is subject to the confirmation by the National Assembly.
Timeline of Name Change of Federal Ministry of Youth
The first time that the Federal Government thought that youth deserved a ministry was in the 1970s when it was known as the Federal Ministry of Social Development, Youth and Sports (1975–1979).
Succeeding governments have either put Youth under a ministry or merged it with another ministry. During the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo – 1999 to 2003 – the ministry was known as Women and Youth Development.
During his second term (2003-2007), Obasanjo created two ministries from Women and Youth Development: Women Affairs, 2) Youth Development.
But the first time it was a standalone ministry was during the administration of President Umar Musa Yar’Adua and his successor Goodluck Jonathan, when it was called the Ministry of Youth Development.
However, the coming into power of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 witnessed another name change. His administration merged the defunct Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) by a proclamation by Buhari on the restructuring of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Government on November 11, 2016.
It was called the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development till the day President Bola Tinubu carried out another restructuring.
The restructuring was not made public until Tinubu inaugurated his cabinet on August 21, 2023.
Here is the timeline of the name change of the Federal Ministry of Youth:
Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Youth has experienced the most name change among over 30 ministries in Nigeria.
From 1964 to 2023, the Federal Ministry of Youth has experienced name modifications 12 times.
- Ministry of Social Development, Youth and Sports (1975–1979)
- Ministry of Social Welfare, Youth, Sports, and Culture (1979–1982)
- Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (1982)
- Ministry of Sports and Youth (1985-1990)
- Ministry of Youth and Sports (1990–1992)
- National Sports Commission (1992–1995)
- Ministry of Youth and Sports (1995–1999)
- Women and Youth Development (1999-2003)
- Youth Development (2003-2007)
- Ministry of Youth Development (2007-2015)
- Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (2015-2023)
- Ministry of Youth (August 2023)
Functions of the Ministry of Youth
After the separation of the Ministry of Sports from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the mandate of the new Youth Ministry are:
1) To formulate monitoring and reviewing the National Youth Policies for human capital development
2) To articulate relevant programmes of action for the consciousness of the youth for national development
3) To design guidelines for youth development activities in Nigeria
4) To fashion out ways to collaborate with youth-oriented partners within and outside Nigeria for the funding of youth-related policies.
5) To inculcate in the youth, the values of human rights, social justice, equity, fairness and gender equality.
6) To promote a conducive atmosphere for the social, mental, emotional and physical development of the youth.
7) To liaise with MDAs and relevant government agencies and development partners engaged in the provision of youth development services.
8) To coordinate and monitor youth development activities at local, state, and federal levels.
9) To provide, maintain, and upgrade Youth Centres and facilities for training Nigerian youth.
10) To create opportunities for youth and involve them in decision-making processes in matters that affect them.
Organizational Structure of the Ministry of Youth
The Honourable Minister is the Chief Executive Officer, while the Permanent Secretary is the Head of Administration and Chief Accounting Officer.
As approved by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Ministry will now be technically be structured into nine (9) departments, following the carving of the Ministry of Sports as a stand-alone ministry from the existing one.
There were also three (3) Units and two (2) agencies instead of four before the President created new Ministries from the existing ones
Departments
- Education and Youth Development (EYD)
- Enterprises Development & Promotion (EDP)
- Finance and Accounts (F&A)
- General Services Department (GSD)
- Human Resource Management (HRM)
- Network and Social Mobilization (NSM)
- Planning, Research & Statistics (PRS)
- Procurement (PROC)
- Special Duties (SD)
Units
- Internal Audit (IA)
- Legal Unit (LA); and
- Press Unit (PU)
Agencies of the Ministry of Youth
At the time of publication, there are two parastatals under the Federal Ministry of Youth, they are:
- Citizenship & Leadership Training Centre
- National Youth Service Corps
There is a possibility that the new Minister of Youth Dr. Jamila Bio will restructure the ministry to align with the goals of the Tinubu-led administration.
Former and Present Minister of Youth in Nigeria
- Paulinus Amadike (December 1979 – February 1982)
- Ahmed Abdullahi: 1985-1986
- Bayo Lawal: 1986-1989
- Anthony Ikhazoboh: 1990-1991
- Yohanna Yarima Kure: 1991-1992
- Aishat Ismail: 1999-2003
- Frank Nweke: April 2004–June 2005
- Musa Mohammed: July 2005–June 2006
- S.A Jankanda: January 2007–May 2007
- Akinlabi Olasunkanmi: July 2007 – March 2011
- Bolaji Abdullahi Ganiyu: July 2011
- Solomon Dalung: November 11, 2015 – May 28, 2019
- Sunday Dare: August 21, 2019 – May 29, 2023
- Jamila Bio Ibrahim: September 17, 2023 to date
