Kebbi Govt Open To Collaboration On Youth Policy

Kebbi State government has expressed readiness to partner with stakeholders to adopt a comprehensive youth policy, as efforts to strengthen youth development frameworks intensify.

This followed an advocacy engagement and technical dialogue, convened under the Youth Leading Change Programme, implemented by the Bridge Connect Africa Initiative (BCAI) with support from the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund.

During a courtesy visit to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, the commissioner, Nura Bala Fingila, said the state was currently refining a draft youth policy framework and remained open to collaboration to ensure its completion.

He noted that although a draft exists, Kebbi has yet to operationalise a fully formalised youth policy, adding that the ministry would support the process through technical collaboration and the transmission of outcomes to the State Executive Council and the House of Assembly for legislative consideration.

According to a statement issued by BCAI’s communication officer, Hauwa Ibrahim, the engagement preceded a Youth Policy Dialogue held in Birnin Kebbi, themed “Strengthening Youth Policy Development, Review and Implementation,” which brought together stakeholders from government, youth groups, civil society and persons with disabilities.

At the dialogue, Fingila reiterated the government’s commitment to youth inclusion, stating that deliberate investments had been made in empowerment, education, skills development and sports.

Programme Manager of Solid Stone Advocacy for Health and Education Initiative Africa, Amiru Umar Faruk, said the draft policy aimed to ensure structured inclusion of young people in governance and development processes.

Also, the Chief Operating Officer of BCAI, Fatima Musa Aliyu, said the dialogue was designed to strengthen institutional clarity and make youth participation more structured and sustainable across the North-West.

Participants stressed the need to include persons with disabilities, strengthen local government youth structures, and expand economic empowerment initiatives to cover the entire value chain.

The National Youth Council of Nigeria described the process as a timely move to harmonise youth initiatives into a unified framework.

Technical working groups were constituted to refine outstanding areas of the draft policy, signalling progress towards its eventual adoption and implementation.