FG restates commitment to actualizing SDG agenda

The Federal Government has restated the nation’s commitment and seriousness in playing her role under the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda.

The Statistician-General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale  who explained the significant differences in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the SDGs, noted that the success of the SDGs is greatly enhanced by a system of monitoring and tracking, adding that “this is one of the strengths of the SDGs over the MDGs.”

Kale stated this at a forum on the high-level dialogue on Data Bond and Responsibility framework for the SDGs held in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

Noting that data and statistics are the lifeline of decision making and the raw material for accountability, the statistician general said that without high quality of providing the right information on the right things at the right time, designing, monitoring and evaluating effective policies become almost impossible.

“This is why the National Bureau of Statistics as coordinator of the National Statistical System in Nigeria took the initiative earlier on the process, to ensure we learnt from the mistakes of the MDGs and put the necessary systems and processes in place for the effective tracking of the SDG indicators”.

Represented by the HOD, Real Sector and Household Department (RSHD), Yemi Adeniran,  Kale stated that the underlying concept of the data bond and responsibility framework was aimed at identifying mandates, potential role of the MDGs and commit them to supply those indicators under the SDGs, thereby creating an opportunity and environment for meaningful progress.

“Therefore this signing ceremony is significant to the SDG monitoring and reporting process as well as the statistical system in Nigeria”, he explained.

Princess Adegoke Orielope – Adefulire – the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs in her opening remarks acknowledged the daunting responsibilities and challenges inherent in the task of statistical production across the MDAs stressing that it was for this reason that the Federal Government is doing her best to install the enabling environment that would guarantee continuous production of the required statistics for tracking and monitoring the implementation of the SDGs in the country.