President Muhammadu Buhari has reaffirmed his commitment to the successful implementation of Sustainable Development Goals SDGs in the country.
The President made the commitment at the opening of a two-day training for Journalists on Sustainable Development Goals in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
The Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development has 17 goals, one hundred and sixty nine targets and two hundred and thirty key indicators.
Although all the goals are interconnected , their focus is to provide a global future that is economically sustainable, socially inclusive, environmentally resilient, sustainable peace and partnership.
President Muhammadu Buhari represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals Princess Adejoke Adefulire said in the last six years, Nigerian government have established institutional frameworks at different levels to guarantee effective implementation of the goals.
According to the President, the media have a critical role to play by tracking progress of implementation as well as integrating SDG goals in their reportage in order to have a well informed society.
“All hands must be on deck to build back better a nation and a world where no one is left behind. As I have always stated, the support of the media is pertinent because as journalists, your background and training equips you with the capacity to engage actively with the public and private sectors towards the achievement of SDGs in Nigeria ” President Buhari said.
The President also charged journalists to curb the spread of misinformation which would impede the implementation of the goals.
Director United Nations Information Centre Mr Ronald Kayanja noted that the training which is first in the series, would be replicated across all the geopolitical zones of the county.
According to him at the end of the training, a network of sustainability reporters would be created that will work closely with office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals.
Chairman Media Awareness and Information for All Network and Professor of Mass Communication, Lai Oso said three hundred journalists would be trained across the country on sustainability reporting and be embedded as champions of SDGs
He explained that the country is yearning for development and the media have a role to play in achieving it.
Dauda Iliya
