4 Nigerian States domesticate SDG’s – presidential aide

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, says four States have so far domesticated the SDGs in the country.

Orelope-Adefulire, who disclosed this when she led a delegation to the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN, said Nigeria was doing well in the implementation of the SDGs.

The SDGs is a successor programme to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), with a set of 17 global goals and 169 targets aimed at transforming the world by year 2030.

The SDGs, which implementation started on Jan. 1, 2016 and terminates on Dec. 31, 2030, is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

It was reported that Orelope-Adefulire was in New York to present Nigeria’s SDGs National Voluntary Review to the UN High-level Political Forum.

The presidential aide said the states are Benue, Edo, Lagos and Nasarawa, adding that Kaduna state is also on course to domesticate it.

According to her, Nigeria is implementing an all-inclusive SDGs to ensure that no one is left behind.

Orelope-Adefulire said all Nigerian groups were involved in the implementation of the SDGs, noting that while the MDGs was government-oriented, the successor programme was people-oriented.

She explained that the Federal Government had integrated the SDGs into Nigeria’s national policy and planning frameworks.

She said her office has Focal Persons from all the states working with the governors as well as Desk Officers in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The presidential aide commended the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari in the implementation of the SDGs and called for the support of all Nigerians for the administration.

“We should pray for president Buhari because he is a good man. We should also support the administration because we have no other country.

“Yes, there are challenges but God has a purpose for us as a country,” she said.

In his remarks, the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Prof. Tijjani Bande, described Nigeria as “a very unique and important country” to the world.

Bande said that most countries understood the place of Nigeria in the comity of Nations, adding that Nigerians have made their marks across the globe in all human endeavours.

“People go from other countries to Nigeria but no one goes and return the same; they come back with deepened knowledge.

“Nigeria has tried in various ways; what we require now is coordination and calmness,” he said.

The Nigerian envoy commended Nigeria’s SDGs national voluntary review, saying that Nigeria had set a pace for other countries.

“A lot of countries will learn from our review; a lot of countries require the leadership of Nigeria to follow.

“God did not make a mistake to make Nigeria a leader; we at the mission here are playing the leadership role required of Nigeria to other missions,” he said.