Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, says Nigeria must intensify its internal strategies to achieve sustainable development with shrinking global multilateral cooperation.
Gbajabiamila said this during the official validation of the 2025 Voluntary National Review ,VNR, the inauguration of Nigeria SDGs Progress Report 2024 and unveiling of Inclusive Data Charter ,IDC, Action Plan, on Wednesday in Abuja.
“In a shrinking multilateral space, we must look inwards for sustainable solutions to our economic, social and environmental challenges”, he stated.
Gbajabiamila underscored the vital role of the SDGs as a strategic framework to guide these efforts.
He noted that Nigeria’s commitment – demonstrated by the successful conduct of VNRs in 2017, 2020, and now 2025 – reflected the government’s resolve to meet the 2030 target.
He commended Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, for her tireless leadership in coordinating the process.
He explained that the 2025 VNR followed six regional consultations held in March 2025 across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
He said exercise assessed progress, identified gaps, and gathered input for the upcoming High-Level Political Forum ,HLPF, at the United Nations in July.
He explained that the consultations underscored the importance of inclusive, participatory, and evidence-based approaches to fast tracking the implementation of SDG.
Gbajabiamila also called on ministries, departments, agencies, development partners, the private sector, academia and civil society to deepen collaboration and mobilise resources to ensure no one was left behind in Nigeria’s sustainable development journey.
He reiterated the Tinubu administration’s unwavering commitment to the SDGs, describing sustainable development as a cardinal objective within the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He conveyed President Tinubu’s best wishes, noting his strong interest in achieving the SDGs.
“When world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, they envisioned a just and truly egalitarian society where no one is left behind.
“Achieving the SDGs will mean ending poverty and hunger, safeguarding our ecosystem and ensuring our people live in peace and prosperity by 2030 and beyond,” Gbajabiamila said.
In her welcome address, Orelope-Adefulire told stakeholders that the national validation workshop reinforced Nigeria’s deepening commitment to the 2030 Agenda.
She noted that nearly a decade after the adoption of the SDGs at the 70th UN General Assembly, Nigeria continued to demonstrate resolve in achieving them.
She referenced the 2024 United Nations SDGs Report, which showed that only 17% of global targets were on track, with developing countries and the poorest populations bearing the greatest burdens.
“Lack of progress towards the SDGs is universal, but developing countries and the world’s poorest people are bearing the brunt,” she remarked.
Orelope-Adefulire described the VNR process as a critical component of the HLPF review mechanism, offering transparency and accountability at the national level.
She noted that Nigeria’s 2025 VNR was the product of extensive consultations across all six geopolitical zones.
