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FG incorporates policy linkages between ERGP, SDGs

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The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, said Federal Government had incorporated policy linkages between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Economic Recovery Growth and Plan (ERGP).

Ahmed said this at plenary session at the on-going 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) with the theme “Opportunities, Productivity and Employment; Actualising the ERGP’’.

The session was on “Deepening the Governance Capability for ERGP and SDG Execution: An All-Government Approach”.

Ahmed, a Chair at the session said specific programmes and projects aimed at achieving the SDGs had been integrated into the 2017 National Budget, and would be included in future budgeting frameworks.

She said that even with the progress made so far, the government had much work to do in terms of empowering and building the capacity of Local Governments to own the SDGs implementation process.

“The ministry will continue to explore opportunities to strengthen and formalise collaboration with state and local governments, having recognised that progress at the sub-national level is key to ensuring implementation.’’

Ahmed said that successful implementation of the ERGP and the SDGs required a clear institutional arrangement for Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation, and an action plan.

She said that the ERGP recognised the need to focus on the implementation as a core delivery strategy.

“The ministry is working to establish robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to systematically track implementation and measure the effectiveness of projects and programmes.

“The Plan also anticipates that Ministry and Agency Heads will drive delivery of ERGP strategies relevant to their sector goals, and will monitor progress towards these goals as part of their day-to-day management activities.

“Further, states and local governments are expected to drive delivery and ensure Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation, through the development of State-centered economic and recovery and growth plans in line with the ERGP,’’ she said.

The minister, however, said that the National Bureau of Statistics, with the support of the Office of Senior Special Assistant to the President (OSSAP) and development partners, had developed baseline indicators, and conducted a baseline data survey for the SDGs indicators.

She said emphasis had been placed on administrative data to enhance routine data collection.

“As reflected in the feedback received by Nigeria and other countries presenting National Voluntary Reports at the United Nationals High Level Political Forum in July 2017, reliable data is critical to the successful implementation and monitoring of the SDGs.’’

Ahmed, however, said that the Federal Government was committed to ensuring proper implementation of the ERGP and the SDGs.

She said that the government recognised that success of implementing the Plan required an All-Government Approach, with clear frameworks and working modalities for institutional collaboration.

“As we transition to our Discussion Groups, we should also be mindful of the importance of leveraging and working with the private sector to provide clear and actionable solutions.

“They should provide clear and actionable solutions, using frameworks that anticipate such collaboration,’’ the minister said.

Also speaking, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, said Nigeria had aligned its 2016 Strategic Implementation Plan to deliver on specific SDGs imperatives in the short term and ERGP.

Orelope-Adefulire said that the SDGs Office had made progress in developing and dissemination of the MDGs End Point in collaboration with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other stakeholders.

She said that the Office had developed the Country Transition Strategy with same partners and developed an Action Plan to guide SDGs implementation.

“We have rolled out SDGs Need Assessment and Costing Exercising in partnership with the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, the MDAs as well as the UNDP.’’

The NES#23 deliberations will focus on five sub-themes of Think Nigeria; Skills, Competencies and Capacity; Access to Capital; Legislation and Economic Inclusion.

It will also ascertain the progress made in the sector opportunities since the last Summit and benchmark them on the thematic pillars for further government intervention and private sector investment.

Nan

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