Enugu State Government has said it was on course to achieving most of the United Nations social development goals (SDGs) by the year 2030.
The Governor, Peter Mbah on Tuesday disclosed this in Enugu, when he was honoured with an appointment as Eminent Peace Ambassador and Humanitarian Champion by the International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA) for furthering peace and enhancing security, education, technology, agriculture and social infrastructure, in line with the UN SDGs.
Speaking shortly after the conferment of the honour on him at a programme to mark the World Humanitarian Day, the governor said that his government’s creation of a special department for SDGs was demonstrative of his empathic nature and commitment to UN’s goals.
Held under the auspices of IAWPA in collaboration with I.Contact-Connect, an SDGs advocacy group, the governor was represented by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Valentina Ngozi Enih.
The representative said: “Our governor is deeply empathetic, which is why we have a special department in charge of the SDGs. The work we are doing today resonates deeply with his mandate, particularly with SDG 5. By 2030, the state aims to achieve significant progress on most development goals.”
Larry-Goodwill Ajiola, convener of the programme and global SDGs’ consultant, thanked Governor Mbah for aligning his developmental projects with United Nations Social Development Goals, a feat he said earned him the award and made him an effective partner with IAWPA which is committed towards promoting and facilitating the implementation of UN SDGs and peace initiatives.
Ajiola said: “Mbah is one of the best governors who is using UN SDGs to execute his projects. We are also honouring him because we need quality people in our association, the International Association of World Peace Advocates.”
In his remark, international spokesman of IAWPA, Emmanuel Nkweke, commended Mbah for his transformational strides in the pursuit of peace and SDGs-focused development projects.
He assured of IAWPA’s readiness to partner with the governor towards the promotion of peace and UN SDGs, adding that his appointment as an eminent peace ambassador is to encourage and motivate him to sustain his good work.
Delivering a speech entitled ‘A time to Critique the United Nations Existence,’ Florence Orabueze, director of the Institute of Maritime Studies at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), decried the continued endangering of humanity by conflicts and wars between nation’s irrespective of efforts by the UN to peace in the world and protect the rights of all people.
She said that this ugly scenario questions the relevance of the UN, with some critics wondering the rationale behind its continued existence.
