NAN-H-79
SDG
By Monday Ijeh
Abuja, April 25, 2017 (NAN) Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), has called on Nigerians to support the implementation of the SDGs in the country.
Orelope-Adefulire made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the national stakeholders’ consultation on the 2017 Voluntary Report on SDGs.
She said the national consultation followed the accreditation of Nigeria as one of the 44 countries in the world to give voluntary report on the activities of the SDGs.
“The essence of the consultation is to bring all the stakeholders, the beneficiaries, the private sector, NGOs, donor agencies and other partners in the implementation of the SDGs on board.
“The idea is for the participants to give account of what they have seen being done by individuals, private sector, NGOs and other partners on sustainable development.
“Studies have been conducted, the mapping is being done and we are here to put heads together to come up with a report to be presented in New York in July,” she said.
Mrs Priscilla Achakpa, who spoke on behalf of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), said that one of the conditions by the UN for the implementation of the SDGs was the participation of CSOs.
She said the participation of the private sector, CSOs, academia and other partners in in the compilation of the report was a step in the right direction.
Achakpa of the Women Environmental Programme and the Representative, African Women Major Group at the UN advocated for the involvement of Local Governments in the implementation of the SDGs.
“We cannot achieve the SDGs when the Local Governments who are very close to the people are not actively involved.
“We need to get information from the people dealing with those at the grassroots to bear on the national reporting mechanism.
“Those information are very important and therefore, not just collecting the information, we need to also begin to bring them on board to understand the SDGs,” she said. (NAN)
IMC/OIF/AFA
Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo/Felix Ajide