NGOs Launch SDGs Manifesto Index

Ugo Aliogo

A group, Nigeria Network of NGOs (NNNGO), has posited that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have served as the framework for governments all over the world to deliver prosperity to people globally in the last seven years.

A statement issued by the NNNGO said in 2021, the world experienced first-hand the effects of the pandemic (COVID-19) on human development.

It further explained that the SDGs are a road map for humanity as they include almost every aspect of human and environmental needs, adding that if properly implemented, they would bring development to the doorsteps of the common man.

The statement also noted that as with every election cycle, there is tremendous hope for reaching the yearnings of the citizens through campaign promises, agenda and manifestos advanced by candidates seeking to be elected.

The statement revealed for the first time that the Nigeria Network of NGOs is launching a report that links the manifestos of the three major candidates in the 2023 presidential elections to the SDGs.

The statement also noted that the report called the SDGs Manifesto Index objectively assessed the relevance of the SDGs to the manifestos presented by the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

According to the statement, “This publication marks a significant milestone in the journey of tracking SDGs implementation by the new administration that will be ushered in by the 2023 general election using each prospective candidate’s manifesto as an entry point.” 

“The index helps to better understand how a candidate’s plans and promises relate to the SDGs framework.

“The SDGs Manifesto Index report finds that Goal 8 of the SDGs (Decent Work and Economic Growth) has more relevance in the manifestos of the three major presidential candidates namely: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (APC), Peter Obi (LP), and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (PDP).

“The index detected 14 goals in the ‘Renewed Hope 2023-Action Plan for a Better Nigeria’ document of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket that addresses the SDGs. For the ‘It’s Possible-Our Pact with Nigerians’ document of the Obi-Baba Ahmed ticket, 14 goals were detected, while 16 were retrieved in the ‘A Covenant with Nigerians’ of the Atiku-Okowa ticket.

“The report noted that the APC candidate’s manifesto would help achieve 46 SDG targets, LP, 55 and PDP 62 out of the 169 SDG targets. In addition, the index searched for specific references to the words ‘Sustainable Development Goals or 2030 Agenda’ in the various documents; 11 instances were found for Atiku, 3 for Obi, and none for Tinubu.

In the statement, the Executive Director, Nigeria Network of NGOs, Oyebisi Oluseyi, noted that reviewing promises, priorities, and strategies of the three major presidential candidates in the 2023 elections through the lens of the SDGs is necessary for focusing attention on the goals.

 “We will perform a post-election review of the manifesto of whoever wins the 2023 elections and develop an indicator for measurement based on United Nations (UN) SDGs indicators with input from development experts and other stakeholders. The indicators will help spotlight how progress towards the design and implementation of activities towards the manifesto, including how this will be monitored and evaluated,” Oyebisi stated.

The statement added that the SDGs Manifesto Index has been developed using text mining and natural language processing tool developed by the European Union Joint Research Centre with an additional conceptual design and framework by the Index Team at NNNGO forming part of the process.

It hinted that: “It also benefited from further review by a group of SDGs experts drawn from within the civil society.”