The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Mr Clement Agba, has described the launch of the Nigeria Integrated Financing Framework Report on Sustainable Development (NIFF) as historic.
Agba said this while reacting to the NIFF launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York.
NIFF has been developed to map out a much needed sustainable financing plan for Nigeria to deliver on its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national development aspirations.
According to the minister, this is the first time in Nigeria’s history that an administration is planning, costing and looking at how to fund a plan.
“In all of the plans that have been mentioned and all of the agenda, this is the very first time we’re doing costing and also looking at how to finance, rather than just putting a plan in place, without necessarily thinking about where the money will come from and how it would come in.
The minister said the important thing was that the frameworks had been put in place, including the financing arrangement, such that the next administration would have something to work with, rather than starting afresh.
“It is pertinent to state that achieving inclusive, broad-based and sustainable development is a cardinal objective of our administration.
“It is for this purpose that the Federal Government of Nigeria established a number of ambitious programmes in an attempt to accelerate the achievements of the SDGs in Nigeria.
“The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs has continued to provide technical leadership in the operations of the SDGs at all levels of governance in Nigeria.”
He expressed delight that the process leading to the NIFF, which started in 2020, finally crystalised into the memorable activity.
“Today’s event marks the end of a long process which began in 2020 when the Steering Committee and the Core Working Group on Nigeria’s Integrated National Financing Framework were inaugurated,” he said.(NAN)
•PHOTO: Mr Clement Agba
