By Dipo Olowookere
A renewed drive for public-private sector collaboration is set to commence in Nigeria as Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo inaugurates the Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
The PSAG aims at mirroring the Global Private Sector Advisory Group which was established by United Nations Sustainable Development Fund (UNSDGF) in New York to effectively achieve the SDGs as a result of the numerous challenges faced during the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
The PSAG in Nigeria will provide the Global PSAG with guidance and strategic support to achieve hitch-free implementation of SDGs in Nigeria. This will ultimately create a platform for more impactful and home-grown sustainable models and solutions to achieve the SDGs.
Speaking on the initiative, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, said the PSAG would help the nation address and solve development issues sustainably. “The Public Private Partnership (PPP) for Sustainable Development marks a new dawn in the implementation of pro-poor projects and programmes in Nigeria,” she said.
Tonye Cole, Executive Director and Co-Founder Sahara Group, said the PSAG would galvanise ideas and initiatives from various stakeholders to achieve accelerated and inclusive development across the nation. “We strongly believe that the achievement of the PSAG objectives will not only improve the global SDG ranking of Nigeria, it will also improve the standard of living across the nation through the provision of sustainable solutions to basic problems,” said Cole, who represents Sahara Group on the Global PSAG board of the UNSDGF.
The Nigerian Private Sector Advisory Group is made up of 13 key partners who share high commitment in achieving the 17 SDGs and also have a track record of laudable milestones in the area of implementation of Corporate Social Responsibility projects.
Some of these key partners include but are not limited to: Growing Businesses foundation (GBF), Lagos Business School (LBS), Sahara Group Limited, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN), Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. (PwC), Google, Unilever Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, GT Bank, General Electric (GE), Dangote Group, Coco-Cola, Channels Television, Chamber of Commerce- Lagos/Kano, National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) and NASME. As the work progresses, the number of organizations that make up the PSAG are expected to increase to accommodate others that are keen on contributing their quota towards achieving the SDG’s in Nigeria.
Stakeholders working under the aegis of the PSAG will collaborate on identifying areas of common interest to achieve the establishment of vibrant public-private partnerships in Nigeria.
The Group will work closely with the Office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President on SDGs to ensure seamless implementation of adopted development projects across the nation.
