MDG’s: Nigeria Government , Ex Governor Peter Obi Gets United Nations Commendation

Caption for the pic: The Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs (SSAP-MDGs), Dr. Precious Gbeneol ( middle) with the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi (left),  and  the  rep of Catholic Bishops of West Africa, John Cardinal Onaiyekan (right) at the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York

 The United Nations has commended Nigeria for her seriousness in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

Speaking at one of the side events to the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on the theme of "Localising the Post-2015 Development Agenda: Lessons from Inter-Governmental Partnership in the Implementation of the MDGs", the Director of United Nation's Millennium Campaign, Carinne Wood commended the Senior Special Assistant to the President on MDGs (SSAP-MDGs), Dr. Precious Gbeneol for her commitment to the Project.

The former SSAP-MDGs who is now the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Post 2015 Development Agenda , Ms Amina Mohammed was also commended for laying the initial  foundation for the Project.

Relying on various reports about the Project, Ms Wood commended the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi for his innovative vision of mainstreaming the MDGs into Governance in Anambra State during his tenure as Governor.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Gbeneol said that whatever achievements Nigeria recorded were due to the resolve of Mr. President to change the face of governance in Nigeria by concentrating on things that would hasten the development of the country. She expressed her gratitude to Mr President for his deploying the resources that made the effective implementation of the MDGs programme possible.

The former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, who was invited to speak at the event in recognition of the remarkable performance of Anambra State in the MDGs programme in Nigeria, shared his experience on how he was able to marry the policies of his Government to MDG goals.

"On coming into office, we adopted the MDGs as our vision as a State and formulated a multi-sectorial approach for delivery of all the MDGs goals simultaneously. Although road construction was not part of the MDGs strictly speaking, roads are necessary for the delivery of the MDGs, starting with goal one-poverty alleviation.  We constructed a lot of roads to create access for rural communities. Recognizing that we could not on our own achieve everything, we went into strategic partnership with international and local partners. A case in point was our collaboration with the Church which led to the return of their schools and government's continued funding of those schools. This   is the reason why Anambra State now comes first in external examinations. We also supported their health institution. Using St. Joseph Hospital Adazi-Nnukwu for example, I can tell you that it now handles heart operations, Obi said.

Obi explained that for Post MDGs agenda to be fruitful, that the people must be at the centre of its planning and implementation.  He said that even in the budgeting process, the people must be encouraged to be part of it.

Ms Amina Mohammed who described Obi as the "MDGs' Nigerian champion," encouraged other governors to understudy him and replicate what he has done in their States.

John Cardinal Onaiyekan, who represented the Catholic Bishops of     West Africa thanked the United Nation for the continued concern for the plight of the peoples of the world, commended Dr. Gbeneol for her work in the MDGs.

Further, he said he was a witness to Obi's achievements in a Anambra State, and insisted it was because of his close collaboration with the Church. He urged other Governments to see the church as partners in progress and collaborate with her for the good of the society and to the Glory of a God.