NGOs Partner Rivers to Domesticate National Youth Policy

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

A coalition of non-governmental organisations(NGO) is  now working in synergy with the Rivers State Ministry of Youth Development to ensure the domestication of the National Youth Policy.

The coalition, including Youth Alive Foundation, Relief International Africa, Centre for Development Supportive Initiative and others, had a meeting at the weekend, with the state Commissioner for Youth Development, Ohia Prince Obi on strategy to achieve success on the adoption of the policy in the state.

Receiving the NGOs in his office, Obi noted that the idea was a welcome development.

He noted that Rivers State has made effort to have a draft domesticated document on the policy, assuring that the process would be actualized.

Speaking with THISDAY at the end of the meeting, Communication Associate with Youth Alive Foundation, Chamberlin Etukudor, explained that the purpose of the meeting was to have a discussion with key stakeholders on how to ensure the adoption of the national youth policy.

 “We are aware that the state has a drafted copy, they are in a draft stage of adopting the national youth policy and we wanted to discuss with the Ministry the modality to ensure that this draft copy is reviewed and approved by the Executive Council.

“We want to see action being taken to ensure the speedy implementation of the national youth policy”.

Etukudor revealed that “In terms of implementation, some of the states are yet to adopt the national youth policy. A state like Akwa Ibom is  yet to adopt it, Lagos state has their own domesticated version of the national youth policy, though it had not yet been formally released. Kano does not have adoption”.

On his part, Executive Director of Relief International Africa, Green Isaac,  said: “We need to review the policy, look at gray areas of the policy and that will entail putting a working committee that is from the NGOs and the government, so that we sit down together and work out a policy.

“Our advocacy visit to the commissioner for Youth was to see how we can strengthen the effort of the Rivers State Ministry of Youth in respect to adopting the national youth policy and that is being in the premise that Rivers State Ministry of Youth had done a draft of the national youth policy.”

Also, Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Development Supportive Initiative and the key implementing partner, Dr Mina Ogbanga,  explained that the national youth policy cut across all the Sustainability Development Goals. “It has different pillars to address the need of young people across the SDGs.”

 The national youth policy is a framework that is supposed to drive development for the young people in the country. The impact is that if Government can keep to the commitment as contend in the policy, the nation will have positive youths.

The main objective is to create employment, create an incubation centre for youth across local government areas in Rivers State which will end up employ the youths in different strata in the state.