Governors from Nigeria’s Northwest geopolitical zone gathered at the United Nations House in Abuja on Friday to seek support from the UN in addressing a myriad of developmental challenges plaguing their region.
Led by Katsina State Governor and Chairman of the Northwest Governors Forum, Dikko Radda, the meeting included governors and representatives from Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
In a statement released by the National Information Officer, UN Information Centre in Abuja, Oluseyi Soremekun, the governors highlighted urgent issues such as insecurity, multidimensional poverty, a significant number of out-of-school children, increasing drug abuse, high child and maternal mortality rates, and substantial youth unemployment.
Governor Radda stressed the necessity of a coordinated regional approach to effectively combat poverty and unemployment, which he identified as the primary drivers of insecurity in the Northwest.
“The only way we can surmount the challenges of the 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 stated.
The governors pointed out that approximately 80% of the region’s population relies on agriculture, which is severely affected by land degradation and climate change, leading to reduced yields. They also raised concerns about high levels of child malnutrition.
The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mohamed Fall, commended the leadership and dedication of the Northwest governors. He assured them of the UN’s support in addressing the region’s development issues, emphasizing the importance of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria.
“The UN in Nigeria is encouraged to see the strong leadership and commitment of Northwest Governors to improving the well-being 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,” Fall remarked.
Fall highlighted that achieving the SDGs in Nigeria is crucially dependent on the success of the Northwest region, which would have a positive ripple effect across Africa.
The UN has identified six key areas for accelerating SDG achievement: food systems, education, social protection and jobs, energy access, climate change, and digital transformation.
