The Centre is run by a Governing Council of 20 members which makes the policies and oversees the general management of the Centre. The council appoints the Chief Executive of the Centre and other key Management Staff. It also exercises all powers relating to financial transactions for the Centre, as well as the approval of funding instruments and related obligations.

Members of the Governing Council
The Governing Council of the YGC has the following constitution:

Executive Management
The day-to-day affairs of the Centre are managed by the Management of YGC headed by its Chief Executive, Ambassador B.A. Clark, assisted by the Deputy Chief Executive, Ambassador M.B. Ekpang. The Deputy Chief Executive is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Abuja headquarters of the Centre and coordinates all programmes of the Centre to ensure that its objectives are achieved.

Yakubu Gowon Centre presently has staff strength of Forty- Five, including the Chief and Deputy Chief Executive. In addition, the Centre has a pool of consultants in various fields, from which it draws when necessary. The centre’s staffs are classified as either permanent or project staff. Permanent staff performs core administrative and programming activities of the centre while project staff are employed to manage specific donor funded activities.

Management Committee
The management committee of the centre is made up of Heads of Departments and specialized units with the Deputy Chief Executive as Chairman. The committee is charged with managing the operations of the centre in line with policies approved by Council of the centre.