The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs) and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has organized training for NYSC volunteers as SDGs champions and advocates in Nigeria.
Declaring the training workshop titled “Training of Trainers (TOT) for Knowledge Development Facilitators” open at the Chelsea Hotel in Abuja on Tuesday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs Princess Adejoke Orelope Adefulire said it is “an initiative for serving corps members to serve as genuine advocates for global goals in their respective places of primary assignments across the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria”.
Princess Adejoke said the SDGs champions are to focus attention on awareness creation on the SDGs; community mobilization for development; SDGs’ Project Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (MER).
The SSAP-SDGs explained that the programme is aimed at harmonizing and strengthening the already existing NYSC platform in the area of community services as well as developing Nigeria youths towards commitment to take ownership of projects through concrete actions in their communities and creating the needed awareness in the overall implementation of the SDGs in Nigeria.
Princess Adejoke disclosed that her office in collaboration with UNICEF has trained 1,600 NYSC-SDGs champions in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states on an online training programme tagged ‘’The August Project”, with Developing local content for global success, the initiative she said “stimulates and capacitates the youths on the relevance of entrepreneurship and its impact on the society”. She assured that her office shall sustain the initiative for the benefit of our teaming youths.
Earlier in his address the Secretary of Programme of SDGs office Engr. Ahmad Kawu said “the occasion demonstrates commitment and genuine desire to localize the SDGs in Nigeria”, he described the initiative as tool in strengthening capacity for SDGs implementation at the grassroots in Nigeria.
On his part the Director General for NYSC Brigadier-General Muhammed K. Fadah, represented by Director Community Development Services (CDS) said the scheme has made phenomenal strides to advance the cause of the SDGs since it was first launched in 2017.
Other speakers from SMEDAN, Ministries of Labour and Employment and Youths and Sports commended the initiative and said it is a social mobilization against poverty and hunger.
Jimoh O. Abdulsalam
ACIO
For: Head of Unit
