By Abdul-Kadir Abdullah
The Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs and Focal Person, Edo State Sustainable Development Goals Office (SDGs), Mrs Ifueko Alufohai, has said the forthcoming Alaghodaro 2022 has been carefully planned to stimulate more investments in the State thereby addressing the Sustainable Development Goals 8, 1 and 2.
Mrs Alufohai who is also the Executive Secretary, Alaghodaro Company Limited by Guarantee (GTE), said this while addressing journalists in Benin City, the State capital, after the business dinner which was organized by Alaghodaro Economic Summit Ltd in Lagos State recently.
According to her, the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration is still making great efforts towards ensuring that the State achieves Decent Work and Economic Growth which is Goal 8, No Poverty which is Goal 1, and Zero Hunger which is Goal 2 of the SDGs.
Mrs Alufohai assured that with the successes so far recorded in the State driven by reforms, Edo will surely be among the comity of States that would be transformed with the actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals before the year 2030.
She added that the Lagos Dinner was organized to engage captains of industry with the intention to offer the opportunity to discuss with both existing and would-be investors who hope to either expand or do business in the State.
According to her, “the business dinner in Lagos was truly for business. You would have noticed that some of the major players in the private sector in Nigeria who also have businesses in Edo were in attendance. It was a deliberate effort to discuss further the opportunities in the State and as a pre-briefing before the Alaghodaro. In Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki is adopting innovative ways to create a robust economy. These will help us as a State to actualize very important Sustainable Development Goals 8, 1 and 2.”
“Goal 8 (eight) is decent work and economic growth. The goal is about promoting sustained inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. It is for everybody to be part of the economic prosperity of the country. It means everybody is employed or doing business. We are expected to do economic activities for personal and national development.
“The goal expects the government to create ways businesses can flourish and provide jobs for many people, especially youths and women. And this is exactly what the Edo State Government is doing. Creating a friendly business environment so that businesses will thrive.”
She added: “Goal 1 (one) is No Poverty. You can see how they are interrelated. As we work to ensure economic prosperity, we are trying to end poverty. The goal is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030. It is a continuous effort to protect everybody from unemployment. The international poverty line is currently $1.90 or below per person per day. So, we are working to ensure social protection for the poor. To ensure access to basic services like health care, education, water and others. This is about everyone having what matters to meet their basic needs like food and shelter.
“As for Goal 2 (two), which is Zero Hunger, the idea is to achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. You can see that the vision of this government is all encompassing, and the various ministries, departments and agencies are working towards achieving that. All the ongoing transformation in the agricultural sector will end hunger before 2030 and this will be a plus to us as a state.”
The Alaghodaro Summit for this year will be coming up on November 11th, 2022. It is usually a platform for private-public sector interaction.
