With barely 75 days to the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, the Director/Secretary of Programme, Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Ogenyi Ochapa has said that it will be disadvantageous for the country if the views and aspirations of Nigerians and Nigerians are not aptly captured in the post MDGs framework tagged: Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

According to a statement by OSSAP-MDGs, Ochapa added that unlike the MDGs, which Nigeria began its full implementation six years after the Millennium Declaration was made in 2000, Nigeria must hit the ground running immediately world leaders adopt the successor framework at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, UNGASS, which will hold in New York.

“The incoming global agenda will positively impact the lives of the poor in the country as it will guide development planning and execution for the next decade and a half. The crafting and transition process of the framework is in top gear and Nigeria cannot afford to leave anything to chance.” Ochapa was quoted as saying.

“In line with Nigeria’s commitment to improve the lives of the poor and in view of the fact that Nigeria will join the global community to adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda in September this year, the Office is already reviewing best practices that have emerged from the implementation of the MDGs Agenda, evaluating their suitability for adoption, institutionalization and consolidation into the Post-2015 Development Agenda.”

Ochapa, who affirmed that Nigeria has been adjudged to have scored a pass mark in the implementation of the MDGs despite starting late hinted that in a bid to forestall late adoption and deployment of the Post-2015 Development Agenda as was the case with the MDGs framework, OSSAP-MDGs has been putting the necessary implementation mechanism in place in collaboration with Ministries, Departments and Agencies, subnational governments, the United Nations Country System, DFID and other International Development Partners, ensuring it is integrated into National and State development strategies and plans for seamless execution. He therefore called on for all hands to remain on the deck to ensure a better implementation of the successor framework.
On the final outcome document of the SDGs, Ochapa noted that in remaining weeks of the intergovernmental negotiations, Nigeria expects that the leaders will put more ‘flesh on the bones’ on some aspects of the document to accommodate the yearnings and aspirations of the poor and vulnerable, majority of whom resides in developing countries.

“In this regard, Nigeria reiterated at the last intergovernmental negotiations at the UN Headquarters in New York that the delicate balance achieved in the carefully negotiated Report of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals should not be reopened under any guise. We stress that the entire outcome document of the OWG including the reservations should be embedded in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.”

“We believe that the outcome document of the new paradigm must reinforce the integration of the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development as an interrelated and indivisible whole and as a pledge to leave no one behind. We are concerned that the section on the new agenda relegates the environmental aspect vis-a-vis the social and economic dimensions. We have also stressed that the outcome document of the Post 2015 Development Agenda must continue to focus on addressing the critical challenges of poverty eradication and inequality between and within countries. In addition, we are emphasizing the need to stress all the Rio principles and in particular the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities. In this regard, we are urging the developed countries to, in line with their traditional responsibilities, take concrete steps to address the challenges of climate change and its bandwagon effects.” Ochapa stated.

-By Desmond Utomwen