The President of Centre for Convention on Democratic integrity (CCDI), Olufemi Aduwo, has commended the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, World Bank and United Nations Development Programmes for their commitment to ensuring peace as a means to acheving towards sustainable development programmes.
The CCDI is an international non-governmental body with consultative status to the United Nations.
The various SDG programmes and goals, he said, are only attainable through the promotion of peaceful co-existence among the people which he described as a catalyst for socio-economic and human development
Aduwo, who also the permanent representative of CCDI to United Nations and a returnee of the World Bank/IMF Boards of Governors’ Meetings gave in a statement issued at the end of the CCDI Annual Briefing on development partners and SDGs attainment, in Abuja on Friday.
He said democracy is synonymous with development, noting that, without peace and security, no reasonable sustainable development could be achieved.
“Oyo State was a hot spot of political crisis since the inception of this democratic dispensation. However, today, the story has changed in the state under the Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration.
“We also commended both the Both World Bank and the UNDP for the various poverty reduction goal of SDGs and their timely intervention and assistance to the people of Nigeria during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
“These 17 goals built on the successes of the millennium development goals while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities.
“The goals are interconnected, often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another,” he said.
Aduwo enjoined Nigerians to show more interest in the 2023 general elections and demand for accountability from those aspiring to public office at all levels.
“Individual or personal accountability is crucial because the office belongs to the people and the person holding that office is a mere trustee of the people’s civic power.
“The first qualification to public office should therefore be public credibility. This should imply that any leader at any level has to be screened in terms of moral integrity. Without accountability, the execution of national tasks can easily be impaired, even with all the goodwill on earth.
“Nigerians should resist the billionaires without enterprise and desperate despots acting out of greed, rather than national interest, from hijacking the electoral process in 2023.
“Above all, once public confidence and credibility cease to exist in those public office, the people’s positive participation in the management of the affairs of state will break down because there is an occurrence of crisis of confidence in the minds of people vis-à-vis the leadership,” he said.
Aduwo also applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for declining to assent to the amended electoral bill, noting that he had some reasons for supporting the president’s decision.
“The clause on direct primaries should be expunge by the National Assembly immediately they resume from the Christmas and New Year holiday,” he said.
