State Ministries in Nigeria are basically the same, except in rare cases where some have to create additional ministries out of the existing ones to take care of vital matters like Youths Empowerment and poverty eradication etc.
Like Federal ministries, the state ministries are made up of employees who are actually career civil servants in state ministries.
The state Ministries in Nigeria are saddled with various functions of government service, with each ministry headed by a state Permanent Secretary who in turn reports to a Commissioner in the State Cabinet upon approval by the Governor and State House of Assembly respectively.
Basically, we have various state ministries in Nigeria, each of which is saddled with specific responsibilities and assignments.
In this post, we shall bring to you the State Ministries in Nigeria, their various functions that may be independent or associated with a ministry, all of which are very important.
Below are State Ministries and their functions, as listed below:
- State Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development: The state ministry of Agriculture is key to all the sectors of the government in the state, charged with the responsibilities of:
- Regulating and enhancing agricultural research in the state.
- Training of agricultural workers and relevant stakeholders through proven techniques.
- Rehabilitation of degraded agricultural land and state resources, forestry and veterinary research.
- State Ministry of Information and Culture: is another important ministry in the state charged with the functions of:
- Providing citizens with the latest events in the various arms of government.
- Ensuring proper dissemination of local and national information as it concerns the well-being of states.
- Promotes the state’s Tourism potentials.
- State Ministry of Education: is saddled with the function of maintaining uniform standards of education in every institution in the state.
- State Ministry of Environment: Is another important ministry charged with the responsibility of liaising with other state agencies to ensure the protection of the state’s environment.
- State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development: Manages, controls and monitors state revenues and expenditures. The ministry of finance offers a good number of services including preparing the state’s budget and formulating economic policies.
Like the Federal Ministry, the State Ministry of Finance does not reach out directly to the citizens of the state, their services are indirect.
In addition, the State Ministry of Finance has other parastatals and agencies under it, most notably the Office of the Accountant General of the State.
- Ministry of Health and Social Services: Is created to develop and implement policies and programs and undertake other actions to deliver health services. It is also saddled with the function of health care and hospital development in the state.
- State Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General: Is headed by a Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General of the state. Like the Federal Ministry, the ministry:
- Ensures access to justice for all and sundry in the state.
- Tracking of any recovered government assets in the state.
- Ensures collaboration with the government to enhance proper justice delivery in the state.
- State Ministry of Labour and Employment: Is essentially to
formulate policies for the development of labour policies by ensuring peaceful relations between labour and state government workers.
- State Ministry of Works and Housing: To facilitate the provision of
adequate and affordable housing for all in the state.
- State Ministry of Transportation: Is another key ministry
in the state, charged with the responsibility to:
- Develop transportation policies.
- Oversee the construction and maintenance of Government infrastructural projects.
- State Ministry of Water Resources and Rural Development:
- Ensures effective production and distribution of potable water in the state.
- Support and evaluate programmes such as the Water Resources Institute.
- State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development: Owing to the growing need to give women the needed attention and adequate representation both in the state and federal, most states in the country have created state women affairs ministries to handle women issues. The ministry has the function to:
- Protect the rights of women in the society to ensure that no woman’s right is victimized.
- Ensure that women are integrated into state processes.
- State Ministry of Youths and Sports Development: Is another very important state ministry charged with the responsibility to:
- Initiates youth development programmes for youths in the state.
- It promotes and supervises sport policies and developments in other to ensure effective sporting activities in state.
- 25. State Ministry of Solid Minerals: Encourages development of the state’s solid mineral resources.
In summary, the state ministries in Nigeria are created to facilitate aggressive development in the grass root and give residents in the state sense of belong.
Like federal ministries in Nigeria, state ministries are in most cases joined or amalgamated and in other cases splited for easier, effective and less cost management in the state. They are indeed good and very important in the state’s management of human and natural resources.