Abimbola Akosile
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire is to present the progress and status report on the implementation of the SDGs in the country to the United Nations during the 2017 High Level Political Forum under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) in New York in July.
According to a statement issued by the Media Assistant to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs), Mr. Desmond Utomwen, the report will include a validated outcome document from the National Stakeholders Consultation on the 2017 National Voluntary Report on the SDGs that was recently convened in Abuja.
The high-level political forum, under the auspices of the UN ECOSOC, provides a platform for partnerships among major groups and relevant high-level international stakeholders. Nigeria is one of the few countries selected to make formal presentations this year.
The report, Utomwen noted, will highlight current implementation progress and status, some of the good practices, lessons learnt so far in trying to accelerate implementation, challenges faced and areas that require urgent and sustained attention, while making efforts to foster inclusion. It will also outline the current policies and strategies, key successes recorded so far on the efforts and existing partnerships for accelerating the achievement of the Goals,
Since the SDGs came into effect in January, 2016, Nigeria, through Orelope- Adefulire has led OSSAP-SDGs and other implementing stakeholders have deployed the institutional, policy and financial mechanisms needed to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Working with diverse stakeholders, efforts have also been intensified to ensure proper mainstreaming of the SDGs into the National and Sub-national Development Plans, Policies, and Strategies.
With about 17 months into the implementation of the SDGs, the SSAP-SDGs has been galvanising stakeholders for massive buy-in towards the attainment of the goals. Specifically, strong multi-level partnerships are being built across Civil Society Organisations, Donors agencies, Public and Private Sectors. This was evident in the high-level inaugurations of the Private Sector Advisory Group and the Donors Partnership Forum by the Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, who is currently the acting President.
In her resolute determination to domesticate, integrate and mainstream the new agenda, the Presidential aide has been working assiduously to establish the policy and framework for the implementation of SDGs in Nigeria. Consequently, she has mounted a strong advocacy campaign to sensitise the public on supporting the global agenda.
She recently mobilised 400 corps members across the country to champion the implementation of SDGs 2030 in Nigeria. The NYSC/SDGs Champions were mobilised to help prevent the drawbacks found with the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria and would assist in advocacy of the SDGs in the 36 states and local government areas of the country.
In the same vein, the Orelope-Adefulire-led OSSAP-SDGs has also commenced a digital skills training for the empowerment of 125,000 youth across the federation. The training is currently holding in all the Senatorial Districts in collaboration with Google through its vendor, MindTheGap with the theme: ‘Diversifying the Nigerian Economy: Enabling Youth through Digital Skills Training.’
She believes the hands-on training would further equip the beneficiaries with the requisite knowledge and exposure that are highly sought after in the labour market; thereby helping them secure a sustainable future.
