Nigeria Launches SDGs Progress Report, Inclusive Data Plan to Fast Track 2030 Agenda

Nigeria has taken a step towards accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the validation of its 2025 Voluntary National Review (VNR), the launch of the Nigeria SDGs Progress Report 2024, and the unveiling of its Inclusive Data Charter (IDC) Action Plan. The event in Abuja, brought together senior government officials, development […]

Nigeria has taken a step towards accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the validation of its 2025 Voluntary National Review (VNR), the launch of the Nigeria SDGs Progress Report 2024, and the unveiling of its Inclusive Data Charter (IDC) Action Plan.

The event in Abuja, brought together senior government officials, development partners, civil society actors, academia, and representatives of vulnerable groups in a show of participatory governance.

In his remarks, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, emphasised that with shrinking global multilateral cooperation, Nigeria must intensify its internal strategies for sustainable development.

“In a shrinking multilateral space, we must look inwards for sustainable solutions to our economic, social and environmental challenges,” he said.

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Gbajabiamila underscored the vital role of the SDGs as a strategic framework to guide these efforts, saying Nigeria’s commitment—demonstrated by the successful conduct of VNRs in 2017, 2020, and now 2025—reflects the government’s resolve to meet the 2030 target.

He commended the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, for her tireless leadership in coordinating the process.

He explained that the 2025 VNR followed six regional consultations in March 2025 across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, which assessed progress, identified gaps, and gathered input for the upcoming High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) at the United Nations in July.

The consultations underscored the importance of inclusive, participatory, and evidence-based approaches to fast tracking SDG implementation.

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 is 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.

In her welcome address, Princess 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 continues to demonstrate resolve in achieving them and referenced the 2024 United Nations SDGs Report, which showed that only 17 percent of global targets are 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 and noted that Nigeria’s 2025 VNR is the product of extensive consultations across all six geopolitical zones, including targeted engagements with persons with disabilities, youth, and children, a process reflective of the whole of government and whole of society approach.

“This national validation workshop not only reaffirms our commitment to the 2030 Agenda but also demonstrates our resolve to ground implementation in inclusive, evidence based, and participatory principles,” she said and urged participants to critically assess the VNR’s findings and recommendations to ensure a robust final report.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, who delivered a goodwill message commended the Federal Government for its inclusive approach to the VNR and reiterated the UN’s ongoing technical and financial support.