The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello, has commended the UN and its agencies for their human development efforts in the territory and Nigeria.

Bello made the commendation during a meeting with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director, Mr Samuel Bwalya, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

He acknowledged the positive contributions of the UNDP through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) toward improving the living standard of the people.

“SDG programme has provided another window of opportunity to work on overcoming the challenges that were encountered during implementation of the MDGs,” he said.

The minister said that FCTA was always prepared to work with the organisations and stakeholders to ensure that critical development projects that would improve the living conditions of FCT residents were realised.

He said efforts were ongoing to realise the very critical water project in Abaji that would provide clean and affordable water to the rural populace.

According to him, this is in addition to other projects provided by the agencies whose execution commenced during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) period but were not completed.

Bello said serious attention was also being given to the SDG Goal 11 that was aimed at evolving a liveable city.

He said that resource persons had been engaged as follow-up to the Urban Thinkers Campus roundtable that was held recently in the territory.

He called for passionate commitment across board to ensure continuity and sustainability of ongoing SDG projects in the FCT and other parts of the country.

The UNDP Country Director, Sameul Bwalya, emphasised the importance of ensuring that the SDG programme succeeded in the FCT  and called for quick planning in order to have a roadmap that would achieve results.

Bwalya appealed for more interaction with stakeholders to reinforce the efforts that were aimed at realising the SDGs in the FCT.

He pledged to work with the FCT and SSA on SDG to address the gaps in the territory.

“The agency is working very hard to get the private sector involved, especially in the areas of healthcare and education,’’ he said.

SSA on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said the objectives of the Programme were to bringing development to the people that were challenged.

“This is especially those in remote parts of the country, to make life meaningful to them and ensure that they are not left behind,’’  Orelope-Adefulire said.

She said that her office had made some interventions in the health sector in the territory.

The interventions, the SSAP said, included providing very critical hospital facilities such as furniture and ambulance services for the National Hospital to safeguard the life of the new born and reduce infant mortality.

Orelope-Adefulire said the upcoming workshop agenda was to sensitise the stakeholders on how they could contribute to the achievement of SDGs, as well as the benefits therein.

She said her office has developed a framework that would ensure that all the out-of-school children were brought back to school with more investment in the education sector. (NAN)

– Oct. 31, 2018 @ 18:35 GMT |