Obiano’s Inclusive Policy And Youth Empowerment

In 2016, Governor Willie Obiano made history when he appointed Nigeria’s first youngest Commissioner, thirty year-old Mark Okoye to be in-charge of the Ministry of Economic Planning, Budget and Development Partners.

This feat and many others were clear examples of the administration’s effort to empower the youths and set them on the mainstream of policy making in the state.

In this report, David Okpokwasili chronicles some of the major policies of Governor Obiano on youth development and empowerment and highlights the major talking points since he was sworn-in on March seventeenth, 2014 for a second term.

Governor Obiano also appointed  another thirty-two year old in 2018, Mr Bonaventure Enemali as Commissioner now heading the Ministry of Lands- one of the most critical Ministries of any government.

Mr Enemali’s appointment helped to cement Governor Obiano’s inclusion of youths who have since been relegated and also reflected his inclusion of minorities into mainstream of governance as Mr Enemali was the first Commissioner to be appointed from the Igala ethnic group of Anambra State.

The big picture is that Governor Obiano at the moment has the highest number of aides and political appointees who are youths accounting for over eighty-five percent of the members of his government.

All these were years before the promulgation of the Not Too Young to Run Act in 2018.

Governor Obiano on assumption of duty on March seventeenth, 2014 and when he was sworn in as Governor for his second term on March seventeenth, 2018 was clear that the empowerment of youths was a major priority of his government considering his focus on human capital development.

Youths have been put at the centre of agricultural policies and development of micro, small, and medium scale enterprises being granted access to loans, grants and other financial facilities through the Anambra State Small Business Agency.

The Ministry of Agriculture is currently developing five centers with massive lands earmarked in the three geopolitical zones of the state for rice production under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme where thousands of youths are expected to be engaged.

The Obiano government has also supported the fight against drug trafficking and abuse which has been a debilitating menace among the youths by providing the political will, financial and logistics support for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

The Commissioner for Youth Empowerment and Creative Economy, Professor Theresa Obiekezie provides more insights into other programmes developed by the ministry to harness and to create a vibrant and self-reliant youth population.