• Targets $100bn from culture, tourism sectors, 2m jobs by 2030
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved two major policy initiatives targeted at tackling unemployment and expanding Nigeria’s revenue base through creative and cultural industries.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Maigari Dingyadi, announced the Council’s approval of the revised National Policy on Employment, which has been under review for six years.
He explained that the updated framework was designed to reflect current economic realities and provide new strategies to address widespread unemployment and poverty across the country.
“This is a very important memo to the labour sector in general. The reviewed policy aims to create economic opportunities that promote productive employment for Nigerians.
“It aligns with our preparation for the upcoming International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting in Geneva, where we will proudly present our renewed employment framework.”
Dingyadi stressed that the updated employment policy was developed after extensive consultations and would now be sent to key stakeholders for implementation.
The council also announced the FEC’s approval for a groundbreaking initiative to monetise Nigeria’s tangible and intangible cultural and tourism assets, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).
Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa, said: “This is the first time in Nigeria’s history that we have a standalone ministry to fully unlock the economic potential of the creative and tourism sectors.
“We are blessed with rich assets — from museum collections and monuments to indigenous languages, culinary heritage like Ijebu garri, textiles like Adire, and cultural landmarks like Ikogosi and Obudu.”
The approved memo outlines a four-stage strategy to identify, evaluate, and monetize assets under the ministry’s portfolio through securitization, with the goal of turning cultural identity and creativity into viable revenue streams.
Musawa explained that the ministry has set a bold target to contribute $100 billion to Nigeria’s GDP by 2030, with a plan to create 2 million jobs by 2027 in the creative and tourism industries.
“This is not just an economic initiative — it’s about national pride. It’s about putting value on what we already have — our history, our talent, our heritage — and creating wealth for our communities without additional strain on the national budget,” she said.
FEC also approved the appointment of 17 insurance underwriting firms to manage the Group Life Insurance Scheme for the 2025/2026 policy year, covering the President, Vice President, ministers, senior officials, and thousands of federal public servants.
The scheme, backed by a N17.3 billion budget allocation, provides life insurance coverage that pays out benefits to the next of kin of public servants in the event of death, offering financial relief to bereaved families. This is in line with the Pension Reform Act 2014, which mandates employers to maintain life insurance policies covering at least three times an employee’s annual total emolument.
The government had increased the allocation to group life assurance by 80 per cent in the proposed Appropriation Bill for 2025.
Listed under the service-wide votes, the sum of N17.31 billion was allocated to “group life assurance for all MDAs (including the Department of State Services/insurance of sensitive assets/members of the National Youth Service Corps, plus administration & monitoring).”
According to the provisions of Section 4 (5) of the Pension Reform Act (2014), employers of labour were mandated to set up group life insurance policies for their workforce. The policy, which ensures that dependents of a deceased employee receive three times his total annual emolument, was meant to cushion the effect of death on a deceased worker’s family.
Similarly, Section 5.5 of the Revised Guidelines on GLIP for Employees provides that the employer shall display a copy of the GLIP certificate in a conspicuous place within its premises, for the information of the employees and as evidence of having taken such policy.
Head of Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, explained to State House Correspondents after the council meeting that “I would like to just quickly take you through the actual approval for today. The approval for today was for the appointment of 17 insurance underwriters for the group life insurance cover and for the year 2025/2026 as I had earlier mentioned.
“And the premium is paid to the insurance companies for the duration of 12 months. So this policy will expire next year. I just like to say that in as much as this policy has existed throughout this administration and even previous administrations, we find that not too many people know about the policy, and so we have, from my office, even planned to carry out a sensitization, which will be coming up very soon.
“But I’m so happy to be given the opportunity today to talk about this policy.”
She added that the policy covers top government officials including the President, Vice President, Chief of Staff, ministers, permanent secretaries, and staff of federal agencies, as well as security agencies like the Nigerian Immigration Service and the Department of State Services and paramilitary agencies.
The premium for the scheme is paid annually, with coverage commencing upon payment, under the “no premium, no cover” policy. Walson-Jack noted, “This policy affects every public servant, and we are planning a sensitization campaign to raise awareness, as many are still unaware of this vital benefit.”