By Nse Anthony-Uko
ABUJA, (Sundiata Post) — Nigeria and the United Nations (UN) yesterday signed a five-year Sustainable Development Partnership Framework (UNSDPF) (2018-2022) which is a successor programme to the current United Nations Development Assistance Framework III (UNDAF III) (2014-2017) in Nigeria.
The UNSDPF has three strategic priority result areas which are governance, human rights, peace and security; equitable quality basic services and sustainable and inclusive economic growth and development.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma who signed on behalf of the Nigerian government noted that the process for development of the UNSDPF which crystallized in the signing of the document involved extensive consultations between the Nigerian government and the UN System and that the consultations allowed for sharing of experiences and for value addition to the development of the UNSDPF.
Senator Udoma told the UN team that his ministry is currently working on the implementation plan for the ERGP which has the key objectives of restoring growth, investing in our people and building a globally competitive economy; pointing out that the plan defines the country’s economic trajectory for the next four years and seeks to take the Nigeria economy out of recession unto a path of sustained, inclusive and diversified growth.
“The aspiration is to make Nigeria a productive nation: A nation where we grow what we eat and consume what we produce. The growth we are targeting is an inclusive one in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. A growth that is pro-poor, employment generating and people centred”, he added.
In his remarks, the UN Systems Coordinator, Mr Edward Kallon, confirmed that the UNSDPF is fully aligned with the ERGP, Vision 2020, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Africa Union Agenda 3063 and other internationally agreed declarations.
He explained that based on joint rigorous country analysis, extensive geo-political consultations, the UNSDPF truly reflects Nigeria’s changing economic, social and environmental conditions and is designed as a strategic framework to assist address Nigeria’s developmental and humanitarian challenges, leveraging on UN leadership, comparative advantages and capacity assessment.