First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has pledged support for Nigeria’s efforts at attaining SDG goals.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has pledged her support for the nation’s quest at attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This Nigeria News platform understands that Senator Tinubu spoke at an event organised by the United Nations (UN) to present ”the 2023 UN SDGs Champion Award” to the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to former President Muhammadu Buhari on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.
Represented by the National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Betta Edu, the First Lady hailed Orelope-Adefulire for her exceptional commitment to the development of her community and the country.
Highlighting presidential aide’s many successes, Senator Tinubu expressed delight about her choice for this year’s edition of the award.
The First Lady said: “She (Orelope-Adefulire) is a consummate and an accomplished politician of great repute. She is a community and rural mobiliser, who has, unarguably, distinguished herself in her untiring and selfless service to her community and Nigeria as a whole.
“Her foray into politics has, nonetheless, impacted positively on the people to the extent that she became a regular face in Lagos politics and Nigeria since 1999.
“From Lagos State, where she was the first woman to be elected into the State House of Assembly, she has a great record which gave the impetus to domesticate the Child Rights Act in Lagos State. This went a long way in considerably improving the lot of children in the state.
“When she became the Commissioner for Women Affairs in Lagos State, she treaded the political landscape so greatly that she effortlessly delivered on all her assignments on all fronts.
“She became the Deputy Governor of Lagos State at a time a real team player was required and she contributed her quota to the transformative drive that catapulted the state to a mega city that we all are proud of today.
“The position of responsibility as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDG became the clincher and ultimately raised her profile as a relentless servant who prioritises the interest of the people ahead of personal gains.
“And it is this selfless approach to national assignment that has brought her this award today, and we are very proud of her.
“Looking at her personality and what she has been able to achieve, it is indeed commendable and noteworthy that a global body as the United Nations with proven analytical approach to issues has found her worthy for this award.
“It further reinforces her dedication and commitment to the plight of her people in making SDG a success story in Nigeria.”
Responding, Orelope-Adefulire, who praised the UN and its agencies for their commitment to supporting development efforts in the country, assured all of her commitment to serving humanity.
The erstwhile presidential aide urged all parents to support efforts at enhancing the female gender’s opportunities to access education, among others.
She expressed delight about her choice for the award and commended her team for the successes recorded over the years by the country in its drive towards achieving the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Orelope-Adefulire said: “Together, we have made significant progress in our collective desire to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. As at December last year, as a country, we completed the long and tedious process of institutionalising the SDGs in Nigeria.”
And we are one of the few countries to have done that.
“All the institutional frameworks required to support the effective implementation of the SDGs in Nigeria are now in place. What remains is scaling the acceleration of implementation, which places Nigeria in the global map.”
The erstwhile presidential aide, who spoke about the many achievements of the country in its efforts at attaining the SDGs, said Nigeria has achieved the integration of SDGs into medium and long-term national and states development plans, out of which 19 of the nation’s 36 states have been completed.
She added: “Hopefully, very soon, all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be completed. The intention is to integrate the SDGs into the short and longer term plans of the subnational governments.”
Orelope-Adefulire said the idea was to ensure harmonious development planning between the states and the Federal Government, including its ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to allow for the successful implementation of the SDGs.
