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UNIC, UK-DFID sensitise grassroots to SDGs

By Victoria Ojugbana
31 March 2017   |   4:12 am
The programme was organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos, in conjunction with the United Kingdom Department for International Development (UK-DFID) and Lagos State government.

Director, UNIC, Lagos, Mr. Ronald Kayanja

The grassroots in Lagos were yesterday sensitised to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to avoid the pitfalls associated with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The programme was organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos, in conjunction with the United Kingdom Department for International Development (UK-DFID) and Lagos State government.

The Director, UNIC, Lagos, Mr. Ronald Kayanja, said the idea was to sensitise people from the federal to the local council levels.He said it was important to start from the grassroots if Nigerians must achieve the SDGs.

He commended the state government for the programme and advised other states to emulate it, since they were the ones to implement the goals. Speaking on the theme: “SDGs, leaving no one behind,” Kayanja noted that these goals in New York could materialise in the lives of people in Nigeria if they do not play their parts.

Also, the DFID South-West Lagos Regional Programme Officer, Mrs. Margret Fagboyo, said that the guiding principle of sustainable development is to support development and growth that would meet the present-day needs without compromising those of the future generations.

Kayanja argued that if the SDGs were integrated in government plan with adequate allocation of funds, the country would be able to achieve the goals by 2030.He commended the state government for systematically working on the sensitisation, adding that they would incorporate the SDGs into their plan.

While inviting various stakeholders to be part of the sensitisation, Fagboyo said Nigeria would meet the target before 2030, if they begin early.“The outcome of this programme would save the state the costs of publicity, consultancy and social advocacy on matters relating to the SDGs. It would also create space for tertiary level of engagement in the areas of transparency, accountability, results and actual social impact,” she said.

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