PRESS RELEASE
Abuja, Nigeria – 31 March 2022. The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), on behalf of the Government of Nigeria, hosted a 3-day Continental Workshop on Africa’s Voluntary National Reviews for the High-level Political Forum 2022 and the Domestication of Agenda 2063, organised by the African Union – African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Workshop took place between the 28th – 30th March, 2022, in hybrid fashion, with in-person participation for African Union Member State representatives and Nigerian SDGs Focal persons representing the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The high-level delegation included the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, represented by the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed; Ms. Amina Mohammed, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General (Video Message); Ambassador Collen Vixen Kelapile, Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations and President of ECOSOC; Prince Clem Agba, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Budget and National Planning; Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on SDGs; Prof. Eddy Maloka, Chief Executive Officer of APRM Continental Secretariat; Princess Gloria Akobundu, Chief Executive Officer, AUDA-NEPAD Office in Nigeria; Dr. Simon Harry, Statistician General of the Federation, amongst others. Other attendees including the general public were able to participate virtually.
Formally declaring the workshop open, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo graciously thanked the leadership of the APRM Continental Secretariat, OSSAP-SDGs and all key partners for strategically convening the workshop in Abuja, Nigeria this year. “It is obvious that Agenda 2063 is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future as well as the continent’s strategic framework that aims to deliver on its goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the Pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance,” he added.
“Nigeria is one of the most supportive African countries to the continental economic, political, and cultural integration. The Country and its APRM national structures constantly stand by APRM to deliver on our core and expanded mandates which are highly focusing on governance assessment reviews, and tracking and monitoring of governance progress including those reviews feeding into Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063 across the Continent,” said Prof. Eddy Maloka.
This year’s annual APRM Workshop aimed to support the capacities of AU member States in preparations for the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) to be presented at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), as 22 African countries are expected to present VNRs. It also offered a regional platform for peer-learning on best practices of the integration and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063, domestication challenges at national and local levels alongside forging monitoring and evaluation tools to report on both agendas in tandem.
“At the sub-national level, some Nigerian states have already produced SDGs Progress Reports and some have commenced the process of conducting their first Voluntary Local Review (VLR). We are supporting this initiative through our enduring technical partnership with UNDP Nigeria. As part of this support, we have invited the SDGs Focal Officials from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to this Workshop. A half-day during the workshop will be dedicated to capacity building of the State Officials on VLR processes. I am informed that this is the first time this component of the Workshop on VLR is taking place in any country,” stated H.E. Princess Orelope-Adefulire.
The 10th Session of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development is scheduled to take place in July 2022, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. It will give UN Member States a platform to report on implementation status and progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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