By Pebang Danladi | Publish Date: Jun 15 2017 2:00AM

A civil society activist and leading participant in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria said greater involvement of state governments is aiding the capacity for success in implementation.

The Representative of Civil Society Strategy Group on SDGs, Mrs Priscilla Achakpa, said this yesterday in Abuja at the National Stakeholders’ Validation of the 2017 National Voluntary Report on SDGs Implementation.

She said the active participation of state governments through dedicated offices in many states had marked a difference from what applied with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that preceded the SDGs.

Priscilla Achakpa who is the executive director of Women Environmental Programme (WEP), said the SDGs would do even better if it would deepen grassroots involvement by encouraging local government areas to participate in implementation more actively.

The National Stakeholders’ Validation of the 2017 National Voluntary Report on SDGs Implementation was organized by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs for relevant government ministries and agencies as well as nongovernment organisations to observe and make input to the draft of the 2017 SDGs implementation report.