Nothing tangible for youth development in the last 3 years - Honourable Adekola
- The federal government needs to do more for youth development in Nigeria
- This was suggested by the chairman, House committee on youth development, Honourable Segun Adekola
- According to him, his committee has made a case for the establishment of a youth commission to take care of the welfare of the youths in the country
The chairman, House of Representatives committee on youth development, Honourable Segun Adekola, has accused the federal government of relegating Nigerian youths to the background.
Honourable Adekola made the remarks when a delegation from Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday, February 21, at the National Assembly.
He lamented that for the past three years, nothing tangible has been budget for youth development by the federal government.
The lawmaker also queried why the Ministry of Youth and Sports where joined together by the government, stressing that more focus is on sports than youth development.
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His words: “You will recall that formerly, they were not together. We had ministry of youths development, we had ministry of sports. I think the combination of the two together has really affected youth development. As the focus is now mainly on sports.
“The ministry to me has been relegated and is now in the background. You will recall that during their budget defence, I was vehement that there is nothing in the budget to take care of our youths. You will bear me witness that for the past three years, there was nothing tangible budgeted for youth development.
“I asserted this when they came for budget defence. We all know in Nigeria, that nowadays, our youths are not gainfully employed. Thousands of our youths are roaming the streets and that is why we are experiencing an unabated spate of militancy, terrorism, prostitution and the menace of herdsmen. They are unemployed and easy prey for recruitment.
“So I agree with you that the budget did not take adequate care of youths. It is unfortunate that we have already passed the budget defence stage, but we will make sure a holistic investigation and forensic auditing is carried out in the ministry."
He also revealed that his committee has made a case for the establishment of a youth commission to take care of the welfare of the youths in the country.
Speaking earlier, senior programme officer of YIAGA, Yetunde Bakare, noted that the budget of the ministry for 2018 is very lean when compared to the role it is expected to perform.
Her words: “A break-down of the budget indicates that the recurrent expenditure as it is currently proposed gulps 95% of the budget while the capital expenditure is limited to only 5% of the budget. This at first instance presents a major challenge considering that share of capital is lopsided and fails to meet the government’s policy of 70 to 30 for recurrent and capital budgets.
“Interestingly, most of the expenditure lines are administrative in nature. In other words, priority is placed on procurement of items such as vehicles, computers, furniture fittings, repairs of offices etc.”
She then listed the recommendations of YIAGA as follows:
1. It is recommended that the MDAs adjusts the pattern of allocation to the 70:30 percent rule for recurrent and capital budget respectively, reflecting the policy on public finance management which the federal government has adjusted to.
2. New projects within agencies should be reduced to a manageable number that will allow for optimal funding of project and possible completion within the medium term, depending on the size of the project.
3. Projects on entrepreneurship, vocational skills should be adequately funded or left to specific ministries with direct functions such as NDE. There is need to harmonize youth programmes to ensure synergies and reduce duplication - a guideline on responsibility and budget priority for youth within federal agencies should be produced by the ministry.
4. To avoid duplication, budgets for sporting activities in the ministry and the Nigeria Football Federation should provide details on type, location and target audience. This will ensure a more transparent and efficient allocation of resources.
5. Youth training on leadership is very important. The citizens and leadership centre’s budget should be increased to provide at least 6 zonal leadership programmes yearly. The agency should also reflect it revenue generating capacity within its budget.
6. Public private partnerships for the provision of entrepreneurship and sporting activities through the relevant agencies should be encouraged and such budgets captured within public funding to ensure accountability.
7. The MDA’s should budget separately for youth activities from that of women and children. Since this is an area of intervention that needs strategic approach, it is important that allocations are separated; this will also enable tracking of funds and oversight of budget.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation, New Nigeria Youth Progressive Alliance (NNYPA), has insisted that Nigerian youths are adequately prepared to take up leadership positions in the country.
The group stated this at a media parley held on Wednesday, February 14, in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of the NNYPA, its acting president, Emma Bricks Oko, lamented that Nigerian youths have suffered continued political misuse and neglect by the political elites since the advent of democracy.
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Source: Legit.ng
