The Nigeria government has introduced the integrated financing framework to fund the financial gap in meeting sustainable development goals (SDGs)by 2030.
Stakeholders at the webinar on Tuesday stressed on the need for rapid mobilization of local resources through the public, development partners, and private funds.
Edward Kallon, United Nations Country Representative, noted that the agenda of achieving the SDGs by 2030 is broad, complex, and spread beyond the capacity of the government hence the need to mobilise both public and private funds to ensure the actualization of the goals by 2030.
He said that mobilizing capital for SDGs in Nigeria has been constrained by inequality, weak financial system, the uncertainty of policy, impact of conflict, climate change as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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He stressed on the need for the development of financing modalities through increased domestic revenues, deepening efforts to attract both domestic and international investment through FDI.
He said, “The INFF process will help in understanding the financial gaps that exist in meeting these goals, the role of the government to achieve the objectives and ways to mobilise available resources to achieve the goals”.
“the estimated funding gap is $350 billion, while the private sector gap os $100 billion over the next 10 years, while the global financing gap is $2.5 trillion and private sector at $300 trillion”.
“The finance required is available and can be mobilized if only if proper policies are put in place to attract them”.
Adejoke Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs said that INFF is aimed to designed to ensure effective implementation of the Nigeria financial framework to achieve the SDGs by 2030, achieving these goals requires mobilizing the public and private resources, this is a call for an integrated approach to financing the SDGs.
“We have been working with national and international bodies to get a framework that will guarantee effective implementation, we have domesticated the Nigeria integrated sustainable development goals through the launch of the SDGs”.
European Union in Nigeria, Kurt Cornelis, in his remark said that it is almost impossible for Nigeria to achieve the SDGs without a mobilized financing structure as the country is still battling with insufficient domestic resources.
He said “To achieve the SDGs in Nigeria the need to be a develop finance assessment, decision-makers should be brought on board to aid effective decision making and implementation, develop patterns to team up on deepening the work of SDGs.
Clement Agba, Minister of State, Budget, and National Planning said that the government is working to develop a roadmap to ensure progress in achieving the SDGs to provide opportunities to strengthen the link between planning and financing of the SDGs in Nigeria.
Shubhan Chauhan, of the world banknote that the SDGs are beyond what the government alone can provide hence the need to mobilise resources from private and developmental partners.
Ben Akabueze, Director General, Budget office said
We share in the aspiration of moving Nigeria towards the attainment of the SDGs by 2030, quantifying the needed resources, the task look bounty therefore any initiative that has the capacity to mobilise the needed resources to achieve the goal will be welcomed.
Said that the aim to be efficient mobilization and deployment of resources making sure that resources are targeted towards the actualization
“The Nigeria government remains committed to the actualization of the SDGs. Despite the cut down of items in the 2020 budget, which shows a 40 percent reduction for capital budget for MDAs, 25 percent reduction in overheads, we lept the budget for SDGs intact, these are indications that we appreciate the need for resources to go toward the achievement of the SDGs.
Over the next 10 years, we hope there will be ease of fiscal constraints to allow for easy flow of funds toward achieving the SDGs”.
