The Kaduna State Government is strengthening partnerships with relevant stakeholders to fast-track the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda in Kaduna State.
Hajiya Umma Aboki, Commissioner for Planning and Budget Commission, made this known in Kaduna on Tuesday, at a four-day validation of the state’s maiden SDGs Voluntary Local Review (VLR) Report.
Aboki explained that the VLR involves the assessment of SDGs implementation progress and actions toward accelerating the attainment of the goals.
“I am pleased to see the synergy that exists among government agencies, Development Partners, Non-Governmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations, the private sector, and media in achieving the SDGs.
“Their participation will be of immense value in the entire process of developing the VLR.
“This emphasizes the importance of effective partnership in achieving the SDGs as a strong pillar that propels the policy thrust and success stories of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai's administration.
The commissioner said that the efforts to create, harness, document, and review data play a vital role in determining, deepening, and engraving the state achievements in SDGs in the sands of time.
“VLRs are proven to be effective tools for monitoring progress at the subnational level.
“They consider the local context in setting goals and targets as well as in determining indicators for measuring and monitoring progress through a process called localization,” she said.
She said that the maiden Kaduna State SDGs VLR would highlight priority SDGs targets and indicators peculiar to the state in the State Development Plans, 2016 – 2020 and 2021 – 2025.
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She said that the targets and indicators were being tracked for progress toward achieving a consolidated and acceptable report that would be presented at the United Nations General Assembly in 2024.
The SDGs coordinator in the state, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed said that the maiden edition of the VLR highlights the progress made in the implementation and attainment of the 2030 SDGs agenda in the state.
“It includes the successes and lessons learned, the challenges, constraints, and gaps in policy execution, as well as available opportunities.
“This will help in strengthening the implementation strategies going forward towards accelerating the achievement of the goals by the end year of 2030,” Mohammed said.
In his goodwill message, Mr. Abubakar Metcho, Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on SDGs commended the Kaduna State government for its dedication and commitment to achieving the milestones in the SDGs.
Metcho recalled that Lagos, Kaduna, and Nasarawa states initiated the conversation about the VLR, adding however, that Kaduna state was the only state that has gone this far in developing the report.
He added that Kaduna state was equally the only state with an SDGs report, stressing that the leadership style and commitment to the attainment of the SDGs were being emulated by other states.
Earlier, the Deputy Coordinator, of SDGs, Mr. Ezekiel Jura said that the objective of the meeting was to ensure a participatory and inclusive validation process in line with global guidelines.
Jura added that the meeting was also for the stakeholders to validate their inputs and gain stakeholders’ confidence and commitment to stronger collaboration in accelerating the implementation of the SDGs.
