Youth Ministry, UN-Habitat affirm commitment to partnership agreement

Abuja (Youth Development Ministry Report) – The Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the United Nations Habitat have affirmed their commitment to the partnership agreement signed in July 2014 towards addressing youth issues in the country.

The Minister of Youth Development in his speech delivered at the follow-up meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on the implementation of the partnership agreement signed in Nairobi, Kenya by the Minister and the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Joan Clos (Dr) re-assured the UN Agency of Government’s avowed commitment to the speedy take-off of the various programmes laid out in the agreement. 

Boni Haruna stressed the importance of the programme on monitoring and evaluation to the National Youth Service Corps, indicating that it needs to be scaled-up in order to enhance the performance of the scheme. He inferred that after over 40 years of successful execution of its mandate focusing on national integration and ethnic cohesion, the NYSC now requires assessments and re-packaging towards better performance and exposition of its successes to the rest of the world.

The Minister further expressed his commitment to other youth issues contained in the document such as the urban youth report and the JPO Programme. He stated that the JPO Programme has the capacity to re-position Nigeria as a contributor to the comity of nations through the UN system, one of the nubs of President Goodluck Jonathan’s vision for the youth under the Transformation Agenda.

In his remarks at the occasion, the leader of the UN-Habitat team to the meeting, Oyebanji Oyeyinka (Professor) commended the leadership of the Ministry under Boni Haruna; noting that his favourable response to the needed action on the implementation of the agreement was laudable. He also informed that the different interventions under the agreement are part of Nigeria’s rights as a member of the UN system. He lamented the situation whereby the country does not make demands of the UN as it stands to benefit immensely therefrom.

The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps, Johnson Olawumi (Brigadier) in separate remarks commended the partnership agreement and expressed his readiness to work with the agency as it concerns the scheme. 

While welcoming the officials, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Henry Akpan (Dr) lauded the partnership between the Ministry and the UN-Habitat.