By Linus Aleke, Abuja
Governors from the Northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria, has appealed to the United Nations (UN), to support their states to deal with the numerous developmental challenges they face.
The Chairman of the Northwest Governors Forum and the Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, made this appeal when he led other Governors in the zone, including Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani; Governor of Kano State, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf; Jigawa State Governor, Mallam Umar Namadi; Sokoto State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Idris Muhammad Gobir; and Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, on a courtesy visit to the United Nations’ Country Team led by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall, at the UN House Abuja.
Mr. Radda noted that the major challenges faced by the region, include insecurity, multidimensional poverty, a large population of out-of-school children, increased cases of illicit drug abuse, high child and maternal mortality, and a large youth population that is unemployed.
National Information Officer, UN Information Centre (UNIC), Dr. Oluseyi Soremekun, in a statement, said, the Governors also, indicated that nearly 80% of the population derive their livelihoods from agriculture, however, they face the challenges of land degradation and climate change which has reduced their yields.
The Forum Chairman equally lamented the high levels of child malnutrition, stressing that they are committed to providing a strong political support needed to ensure UN interventions in the Northwest are implemented with the required speed.
“The only way we can surmount the challenges of Northwest is through a regional approach which demands that we work together in a coordinated manner. We need to collectively fight poverty and unemployment being the major root causes of insecurity in the region,” he said.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Mohamed Malick Fall, expressed his delight at receiving six of the seven Governors in the zone, while assuring that the United Nations family would support the Northwest region to address those development challenges.
He noted that with the varied high levels of multidimensional poverty, the sustainable development goals would only be achieved in Nigeria if the northwest got it right, and this in turn would impact positively on the African region.
“The UN in Nigeria is encouraged to see the strong leadership and commitment of Northwest Governors to improving the wellbeing of their people. We will continue to support the government and people of Northwest Nigeria. Together, we will rescue and accelerate the agenda 2030 for sustainable development in the region,” he said.
The Resident Coordinator informed the governors that the UN has embarked on acceleration of the achievement of the SDGs through a focus on six key areas including food systems, education, social protection and jobs, energy access, climate change, and digital transformation.
The meeting, Dr.Soremekun, said, agreed that a roadmap for action will be developed by technical teams from the UN and the seven states, through a framework of UN support to the region.
