Nigeria has called for the
elimination of safe havens for stolen assets and illicit financial flows to
free up resources for sustainable development, Permanent Representative to the
UN, Tijjani Bande, said.
Mr Bande made this known at
an ‘Interactive Dialogue for Sustainable Development’ at the Economic and
Financial Committee of the UN General Assembly in New York.
He called for unconditional
return of such assets and funds to their countries of origin.
The Nigerian envoy said:
“In this regard, it is important that safe havens that create incentives for
the transfer of stolen assets and illicit financial flows abroad are
eliminated.
“The return of such assets
and funds will certainly aid our ongoing sustainable development efforts.”
He said Nigeria believed
that sustainable development required the galvanisation of urgent common
efforts, a reinvigorated global partnership, and an enabling environment at all
levels.
He called for the creation
of appropriate global partnership for development, balanced against the
increased emphasis on domestic resource mobilisation.
Mr Bande noted the concerns
expressed in the report of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres,
particularly in relation to the slow pace of Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) progress in Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, Nigeria
is fully committed to translating the SDGs into reality, in a balanced and
integrated manner.
He added that “As a show of
commitment, the Government of Nigeria has developed a comprehensive multi-layer
and multi-cluster national accountability institutional framework for enhanced
coordination of SDGs mainstreaming in the country.
“An Inter-Ministerial
Committee on the SDGs has also been established and the operational guideline
for coordinated engagement of Government intervention programmes has been
adopted, at both the national and sub-national levels.
“The Office of the Senior
Special Assistant to the President on SDGs has been empowered to ensure
horizontal and vertical coherence of SDGs development policies, plans and
strategies in the country.
“To fully harness Nigeria’s
rich human and material resources and to more effectively engage other
stakeholders, a Private Sector Advisory Group and a Donors’ Forum on the SDGs
have recently been inaugurated.”
To enhance the legislative
oversight on the SDGs implementation processes, he said, two committees on SDGs
had been established in both the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives.
The ambassador explained
that Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan aligned, to a large extent,
with SDGs targets.
To ensure proper monitoring
and evaluation of SDGs implementation in Nigeria, an SDG data mapping exercise
was recently concluded and a data supply responsibility framework, agreed upon,
he said.
He said Nigeria was
currently upscaling Conditional Grants Scheme, to become one of the best
practices in counterpart contributory mechanism that incentivises sub-national
governments to accelerate progress in SDGs core targets.
“In line with the Sendai
Framework for disaster risk reduction and the workings of the United Nations
International Disaster Reduction, Nigeria has established the National
Emergency Management Agency as the focal point for all disaster management
efforts of the Government.
“As a practical and
pro-active approach to disaster reduction, Nigeria has also established the
National Centre for Flood Early Warning Systems.
“The devastating impacts of
climate change are increasing, posing fundamental threat for the existence of
humanity. Nigeria has since taken steps in integrating and implementing the
Paris Agreement.
“We urge States Parties to
ensure compliance to the Paris Agreement on the basis of common but
differentiated responsibilities,” the Nigerian envoy said.
(NAN)
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