President Muhammadu Buhari has launched the Nigeria Integrated National Financing Framework (NIFF) Report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The report was released on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States of America, on Friday.
Buhari stated that the Integrated National Financing Framework (NIFF) was created to map out a much-needed sustainable financing plan for Nigeria to deliver on its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our National Development aspirations.
President Buhari stated that achieving the SDGs will mean ending poverty and hunger, protecting the Nigerian ecosystem and the planet, and ensuring people live in peace and prosperity by 2030 for Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
He said, “It is pertinent to state that achieving inclusive, broad-based and sustainable development is a cardinal objective of our administration.
“It is for this purpose that the Federal Government of Nigeria established a number of ambitious programmes in an attempt to accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria.
“The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs has continued to provide technical leadership in the operations of the SDGs at all levels of governance in Nigeria.”
“Today’s event marks the end of a long process which began in 2020, when the Steering Committee and the Core Working Group on Nigeria’s Integrated National Financing Framework were inaugurated.
”The Integrated National Financing Framework has been developed to map out a much-needed sustainable financing plan for Nigeria to deliver on our commitment to the SDGs and our National Development aspirations,” he added.
He stated that the country’s various development plans and programs have all been aligned with the SDGs and are poised to propel the economy to greater heights despite the challenges that the country has faced.
Recognizing the challenges posed by the sharp drop in crude oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, Buhari stated that Nigeria has remained steadfast in its genuine desire to sustain and grow the economy.
“The 2017-2020 Economic Recovery and Growth Plan; the 2020 Economic Sustainability Plan; the 2021 National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy; and the 2021-2025 National Development Plan are all aligned with the SDGs.
“It is in line with this commitment and with a focus on the National Development Plan (2021-2025) that the Federal Government of Nigeria, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, has adopted the NIFF as a tool to improve SDGs financing.
”This is without increasing public debt and contingent liabilities to levels that will be detrimental to economic sustainability.”
Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, said that Nigeria is the first country in the Global South to have successfully completed a Country-led Independent Evaluation of SDG-3 on ‘quality health and well-being for all’ and SDG-4 on ‘qualitative and inclusive education and lifelong learning for all.
