There are 35 Federal Ministries in Nigeria as of August 20, 2023, showing an addition of 9 to the existing ones by President Bola Tinubu. There were 26 federal ministries during the regime of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
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Understanding How Federal Ministries in Nigeria Work
The Federal Ministries in Nigeria are civil service departments that are saddled with the responsibility of delivering various types of government service and helping the government in power to implement its policies.
Sometimes, Federal Ministries in drafting government policy direction as it may be required by the incumbent president.
Federal ministries are managed by political appointees of the president, but there are civil servants who head each of the ministries, they are called Permanent Secretary.
The Permanent Secretary reports directly to a Minister who is a member of the Federal Cabinet.
Full List of Federal Ministries in Nigeria
This full list shows the old, newly created, and modified Federal Ministries in Nigeria under the Tinubu-led government. In the later part of this article, we will analyse the newly created and modified ones
- Federal Ministry of Power
- Federal Ministry of Finance
- Federal Ministry of Works
- Federal Ministry of Interior
- Federal Ministry of Youths
- Federal Ministry of Justice
- Federal Ministry of Police Affairs
- Federal Ministry of Defence
- Federal Ministry of Education
- Federal Ministry of Tourism
- Federal Ministry of Transportation
- Federal Ministry of Women Affairs
- Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Federal Ministry of Steel Development
- Federal Ministry of Gas Resources
- Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources
- Federal Ministry of Sports Development
- Federal Ministry of Federal Capital Territory
- Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment
- Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy
- Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
- Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development
- Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment
- Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
- Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning
- Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation
- Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
- Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology
- Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation
- Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development
- Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy
- Federal Ministry of Environment (Ecological Management taken off)
- Federal Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs
- Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation
- Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy
Federal Ministries With The Highest Institutions
The data available to InfomediaNG show that Federal agencies in Nigeria run into hundreds. But by the number of agencies, institutions, and departments, here is a list of Federal Ministries in Nigeria with the highest agencies or institutions:
- Ministry of Education: 245 (including federal universities, Polytechnics, and colleges of education)
- Ministry of Health: 132
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 116
- Ministry of Agric & Rural Development: 45
- Ministry of Environment: 21
The former Ministry of Information and Culture used to have 21 agencies or institutions, but following the modification of the ministry, it is likely that it losses some of its agencies to the new Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy.
Newly Created or Modified Federal Ministries
Nearly all the federal ministries have experienced name change or restructuring since 1960 till date except the Federal Ministries of Justice and Education,
Sometimes, ministries are merged or split. For instance, during the first term of former President Buhari, he merged Power, Housing, and Works, appointing former Lagos State governor Babatunde Raji Fashola as the minister.
In his second term, he split the ministry into two (Power and Works and Housing), Fashola oversaw the activities of Works and Housing.
The same happened during the administration of Buhari’s predecessors. Again, Buhari’s successor, Bola Tinubu has created new ministries or modified names, or split existing federal ministries.
For instance, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was managing everything related to crude oil and gas, but Tinubu created the Ministry of Gas Resources. The same is applicable to the Ministry of Transportation which managed marine resources, Tinubu created a separate ministry known as Marine and Blue Economy (we extensively explained the challenges and advantages of Blue Economy in our post here).
Meanwhile, he may have scrapped the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs since the functions of the ministry overlap with that of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Here is a list of 14 newly created ministries or modified ministries by Bola Tinubu:
In Tinubu’s cabinet which we earlier outlines in this article, he appointed 45 ministers, and each state is represented.
1) Marine and Blue Economy (new). Some of the agencies formerly under the federal Ministry of Transportation will most likely be transferred to the new ministry which is managed by a former Osun State governor.
2) Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (modified)
3) Tourism (New)
4) Art, Culture and the Creative Economy (new/split from Information Ministry)
5) Gas Resources (split from Petroleum Resources Ministry)
6) Steel Development (split from the former Ministry of Mines and Steel Development)
7) Finance and Coordinating Economy (modified). Under Buhari, it was known as the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning
8) Health and Social Welfare (modified). The “SOCIAL”” was under the former Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development
9) Aviation and Aerospace Development (modified). It was formerly known as the Aviation Ministry
10) Youth Development: It is a breakaway from the former Ministry of Sports and Youth Development)
11) Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (Modified). It was formerly known as Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development
12) Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology (Modified). It was formerly known as the Ministry of Science and Technology
13) Budget and Economic Planning (new). It was split from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning
13) Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy (modified). It was known as the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy during the previous government.
14) Environment and Ecological Management: Changed back to Ministry of Environment
Takeaways:
During Buhari’s administration, there were 26 ministries
The government of President Bola Tinubu created nine more and modified others, bringing the total number of Federal Ministries in Nigeria to 35 as of August 20, 2023.
